


Shadows Are Darker in the Light

by CosmicCrossing



Category: Senyuu.
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Character Death, It's all just sadness, Make sure you have tissues, Multi, Okay you get it there's no happy ending here, This is a feels trip, Triggers, dark themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-03 13:57:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6613294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicCrossing/pseuds/CosmicCrossing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all began without a goodbye. And things only seemed to escalate from there.</p><p>/You're like...the sun. You bring light into people's lives, brightening the darkness and chasing away the shadows. But there are some that still remain. Those are my shadows. You shine on me, taking away some of my darkness, but you also make some of my shadows darker. Shadows are darker in the light, you see? And even with your sun, I couldn't escape from them. Yes, this is for the best, I think. Your light is needed elsewhere. You don't need to waste it on someone like me, who can't rid himself of his shadows./</p><p>(Involves many dark themes, including suicide/character death. AlbaXRos/Shion, minor AlbaXTeuffel, highschool AU, lots of angst!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Last Time He Saw Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so! Hey, everyone! I decided that I'd post this here. It's already completed over on FFnet, so if you'd rather not wait and want to read the entire thing in one go, be my guest: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10904902/1/Shadows-Are-Darker-in-the-Light
> 
> Just note that the first half of the story was written way waaaay back in 2014. My writing has obviously changed and improved since then, so please ignore the, er, childishness of the beginning? It gets a lot angstier towards the end, I promise.
> 
> If the warnings haven't scared you off already, let me remind you: this story is not for the faint of heart. There's tons of trigger warnings in here, including suicide, death, depression, torture, and even more fun stuff. So please take caution before reading, okay? (I promise you I will write very cute and fluffy Albatross oneshots after this monster of a story is being done updated over here. The angst is almost too much for even me!)
> 
> I noticed after I finished that I've been spelling Teufel's name wrong the entire time...I'm pretty sure it's supposed to have one "f", not two like how I spelled it. Ah, well, it's too late to change now...all of the spellings in this series are strange. I only started using "Ros" instead of "Ross" and "Crea" instead of "Clare" a short time ago, so...it's fine!
> 
> I'll post more chapters tomorrow, but for now I shall retire to bed! I hope you all enjoy the story!

"Good morning, Ros!"

Ros glanced over from his position against the lamppost, crimson red eyes settling on a young teen with light brown hair and sparkling eyes.

"Good morning, Hero."

Alba gave him a huge grin. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Of course not, Hero. I was actually daydreaming about you tripping and breaking your neck on the sidewalk. I guess I lost track of time." He commented casually, beginning to walk in the direction of the school.

"That's so mean!" Alba cried, racing to catch up with him.

"So, won't you do it?"

Alba finally caught up, panting from the effort. Ros could walk really fast! "Do...do what?"

"Trip and break your neck on the sidewalk."

"Wha— _no!_ Why would I even think about doing that?!"

Ros sighed dramatically. "Oh, Hero. You're really pathetic."

Alba stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "And you're really sadistic! Geez!"

Ros rolled his eyes, hiding a fond smile. "Come on. We're going to be late for first period." He paused for a moment, "...On second thought, you can be late, so that way the teacher will yell at you in front of everyone."

Alba made a face and smacked his arm playfully. "No way!"

The chuckling pair finally arrived in the classroom not too long after. They were greeted by the sight of all of their friends, sitting in a circle around desks and chairs.

Rchi lifted her head to greet them. "Oh! Alba-san, Ros-san! You're here!"

"Hi, Rchi-chan!" Alba smiled and took a seat beside her, Ros sitting down next to him. They glanced towards Hime, who was currently in the middle of a heated argument with Ares.

"I never said that!"

"Ah, but it's so obvious."

"Sh-shut up! There's no way that I can possibly li...li..." Hime trailed off, looking at Foyfoy (who was clueless as to what was going on) and her face turned bright pink.

" _Nooooo!_ " She screamed, lashing out at him. Foyfoy cried out in shock when her fist connected with his face.

"It's a lie! Not true, _not true!_ You must be mistaken, Ares! Yes, that's _got_ to be it! _Eeek!_ " She shrieked, continuing to rain down punches on Foyfoy, who was unconscious from the initial impact.

Alba heard a sigh come from his left, and he spotted Teuffel curled up in a chair not too far away.

"You're too loud..." He mumbled, strangely swirly eyes meeting Alba's.

Alba watched in curiosity as his cheeks colored, and then he quickly turned away.

"So, Alba-san," Rchi spoke up, tugging on his sleeve, "who do _you_ like?"

"E-eh?" He blinked in surprise. "Li...? What do you mean by that...?"

"I mean, who do you have a crush on, Alba-san? That _is_ what we were talking about just now," Rchi questioned again, tilting her head to the side cutely.

"Wh-wha? I..." He glanced at Ros out of the corner of his eye, who was now on his phone and ignoring the entire conversation. Alba could feel his cheeks turning red, and he inwardly begged himself to stop blushing. "I don't...I d-don't like anybody."

Rchi didn't buy it for a second. "Oh, really? Because it seems to me that you like R—"

Alba shot up out of his chair, startling everyone around him. " _O-oh,_ look! There's the teacher! We'd better get in our seats!"

The teacher, who had just walked in, regarded him with amusement. "Thank you, Fruhling-kun. As he said, everyone, take your seats!"

Alba sunk down into his chair, face burning. He could hear Ros snickering beside him. A few seats away, Rchi's gaze bored into him, imploring. He'd barely avoided her question—and her suspicions. Hopefully she'd forget about it and wouldn't bring it up again later.

_What a great start to today,_ he thought sourly. _Let's just hope it gets better..._

* * *

The day passed without any more life-impacting events, much to Alba's relief. He walked down the familiar road to home, Ros at his side. The sun was setting, splotching the sky with pinks and oranges, casting a soft yellow glow on everything it touched. He couldn't help but notice how the sun's rays lit up Ros' hair, or how it made his crimson eyes bright and a beautiful, deep red color.

Feeling that strange warmth creep into his cheeks again, Alba quickly turned away and directed his attention towards the path in front of him. Both of them were strangely silent today, he noticed. Usually Ros would be teasing him about something and he'd be whining back. This time, though, a quietness had descended upon them, but Alba didn't mind it. It was nice and comfortable. He secretly found himself wishing that days like this would never end...

But it was over too soon when they reached the dreaded intersection where they'd have to part. Alba slowly turned towards the way he was supposed to go, feeling a weird sensation in the pit of his stomach. Why did he have such a strange feeling of...foreboding? Like something bad was going to happen?

Ignoring it to the best of his ability, he smiled at Ros. "'Bye, Ros!"

Ros didn't respond; instead, he stared at him, face gaining an expression Alba couldn't place.

"Alba."

Alba blinked at him, eyes wide. Ros only ever called him Alba when he was really serious about something.

"Ros...?" Alba whispered. "I...is something wrong?"

He didn't have time to react before Ros suddenly swooped forward, gathering him up into his arms in a tight embrace.

Immediately, Alba's face burst into flames. " _Wh-wh-wha—_ "

"...Hero," Ros said quietly.

Alba remained there, frozen. "Y...yeah?"

Ros squeezed him a little. "I...need to tell you something..."

"Wh...what is it?" Alba squeaked, heart pounding loudly in his ears.

Ros didn't respond for a long time. Then, "Ah...nevermind. It's not important." He pulled away from Alba.

The brunette sputtered for a few moments, unsure of how to act. Ros gave him a smile, one that was sort of bittersweet.

"You'll be alright, I'm sure." He said, more to himself than to Alba.

"H-huh?"

Ros straightened out, and then his expression returned to normal. "Don't worry about it, Hero. For now, just focus on getting home safely and not getting hit by a car."

Alba's jaw dropped. " _Wha_ —why, you!"

Ros laughed loudly, grinning. Then, he turned away. "...'Bye, Hero."

Alba sighed but decided to humor him anyway. "See you tomorrow, Ros."

His heart gave a strange little thump when Ros didn't answer him. Instead, he started walking away, towards his own house in the distance. Puzzled by his recent actions, Alba shrugged and went his own way home, humming to himself along the way.

What he didn't know was that this was the last time he'd ever see Ros.


	2. Disappearing Without A Trace

Alba rushed towards that special intersection the next day, a piece of toast in his mouth. Of course he'd overslept! Just his luck.

He reached the intersection not too much later, panting heavily. It was a special place to him, at least in the mornings. He always had conflicting feelings about it—in the morning, it was a good place to go, because that's where he'd meet up with Ros everyday, but in the evening, he disliked it because that's where he'd always say goodbye. It was strange, to say the least.

"Ros, I'm sorry I'm late, did I keep you waiting too lo—" He stopped when he realized that the crimson-eyed teen was nowhere to be found.

Alba tried to ignore the feeling of his heart dropping to the pit of his stomach. Well, of course he wouldn't be here. Alba did sleep in late, after all.

Fighting off the sense of dread he'd been feeling since the night before, Alba started off towards school.

_I guess he must've gotten tired of waiting for me,_ he thought, stepping along. _I'll have to apologize to him when I see him..._

With a grunt he picked up his pace, his feet clapping against the sidewalk. Hopefully he'd make it in time before first period.

* * *

"He isn't here?"

Rchi shook her head, frowning. "I didn't see him come in this morning."

Alba gained a frown of his own. Worry gnawed at him. "I-I see...maybe he's sick? He was acting kinda weird yesterday..."

Rchi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, he was a little off. Before he left school he gave me a stuffed animal and told me to look out for you."

Alba looked at her in surprise. "He did?"

"Yeah...I thought it was a little strange..."

"Are you guys talking about Ros?"

The pair looked up when Foyfoy came sauntering over. "He gave me some weird dating tips yesterday, clapped me on the back, and left. Did you guys notice him being wacky too?"

"So it isn't just us..." Alba mused. He pulled out his phone. "Maybe we should try texting him."

Rchi nodded. "Okay. Maybe you were right, and he is sick."

Alba typed out a quick message and clicked send.

**Me:** Hey, where are you? Are you okay?

_Message failed to send._

"Huh?" Alba murmured. "Failed to send?"

Foyfoy leaned over his shoulder, lips pursed. "Try again."

Alba shrugged and clicked the resend button. Again, the same message from before popped up: "Message failed to send."

"It's not working," Alba whined. "Why isn't it working?"

"Is something wrong with his phone?" Foyfoy asked.

Alba shook his head. "No, not that I know of."

"And your phone?"

"Perfectly fine last time I checked..."

Rchi peered over at the screen. "Maybe try calling instead?"

"Alright, might as well give it a shot." He quickly changed apps and found Ros' number before clicking the call button. He held it up to his ear, waiting. It rang once...twice...three times, four...

" _We are sorry. The number you are trying to reach no longer exists. We apologize for the inconvenience._ "

Alba's face drained of all color.

"Did he answer?" Rchi asked, gazing up at him.

Foyfoy noticed his expression and frowned worriedly. "Alba? You okay?"

Rchi realized what was going on too, and she started rubbing Alba's back in a comforting manner. "Alba-san?"

"Th...there's something wrong," he choked. "I-it says his number no longer exists. Why? It worked just fine when I texted him a few days ago, so why is this...happening n-now?"

"Let me see," Foyfoy demanded, snatching his phone away. He redialed Ros' number and waited while Rchi patted a pale Alba's back.

"I'm sure he's fine, Alba. Maybe he got a new number?"

"He wouldn't do that without telling me!" Alba cried, shaking. "Where is he? Is he home? I want to go see him..."

"Alba-san, please," Rchi pleaded. "You're overreacting. I'm sure everything's just fine. Why don't we go stop by Ros-san's house after school and pay him a visit?"

Alba visibly relaxed at this. He nodded slowly. "...Okay."

Foyfoy walked back over to them, shaking his head. "Yeah, something must be wrong with his phone. I'm thinking he got a new number or something."

"That's just what I was telling Alba-san," Rchi said with a smile.

The three of them jumped when the classroom door opened and the teacher walked in.

"Good morning, class. Please take your seats."

Everyone sat down, chatting quietly. Alba looked to his left, frowning. It was weird not having Ros there.

"Excuse me, sensei?" He raised his hand.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Yes, Fruhling-kun?"

"Um, I was wondering if you know where Ros is? I mean, he's not answering his phone, so...d-did he, uh, call in sick today?"

The teacher stared at him for a few moments, looking highly uncomfortable. Alba felt a rush of panic overtake him. Just what was going on?

"O-oh...well, actually...I received a message yesterday regarding his absence..." She straightened her glasses with a small sigh. "It seems that he's, um...moved away."

Alba froze.

_What...?_

* * *

_Message failed to send._

"No!"

_Message failed to send._

"Why, _why...?_ "

" _We are sorry. The number you are trying to reach no longer exists. We apologize for the inconvenience._ "

" _Dammit...!_ "

" _We are sorry. The number you are trying to reach no longer exists. We apologize for th—_ "

Alba slammed his phone down on the table. The screen cracked in two, but he didn't care. He buried his head in his arms and let out a quiet cry of anger.

"Why is this happening...?"

_"I'm sorry, Fruhling-kun. But he no longer attends this school."_

_"C-can't you contact him for me?! Please! I just need to talk to him!"_

_"I'm afraid he's left no way of getting in touch with him. I'm very sorry..."_

_"No...no, that can't...that can't be..."_

This couldn't be happening.

_"Alba-san..."_

_"Are you okay?"_

_"I heard about your friend."_

_"Did Ros really leave?"_

_"Wow...so, he's really gone, then..."_

_"What should we do?"_

_"He's not answering us..."_

_"Alba-san, Alba-san..."_

_"Alba?"_

_"Hey, Alba!"_

_"Are you okay?"_

_"Do you need to go to the nurse?"_

_"He's not answering..."_

_"Alba..."_

_"Alba-san, please..."_

_"Al—"_

_"Hero?"_

Alba shot up from his position, tears rolling down his cheeks.

He stared at the clock on the wall, unmoving.

_Why? Why is this happening to me?_

Why?

_Ros...Ros, Ros, Ros...where are you? Why did you leave so suddenly? Why didn't you say goodbye?_

_Why did you leave me, Ros?_


	3. Message Sent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not going to post all of these chapters at once, maybe 2 or 3 a day would be best in this case? I dunno. I'm not sure how these things work.
> 
> Anyway thanks to those of you who've read and left kudos so far, it means a lot! So here's chapter 3, then! (Also I'm sorry for the shortness of these chapters, I promise they get longer as we go along!)

The next few months passed slowly, almost painfully. Alba seemed almost empty now, his eyes having lost their lively glow, his conversations straight and to the point, his interactions with friends limited. He withdrew into himself, choosing not to talk to anyone, see anyone. It seemed as if he was becoming the old Ros that everyone had once known, the recluse, the anti-social teen.

They didn't know why he was acting this way. It hadn't been the first time somebody they knew had moved away or graduated or left them in some other manner. They couldn't understand it.

Rchi could, though. She knew, she knew how close Alba was to Ros. She saw everything that happened between them, knew about the hidden emotions and tightly bottled feelings they kept inside. She knew Alba liked Ros. No, maybe even more than liked him, maybe Alba even loved him. It was easy to see that Alba was suffering from major heartbreak. It would be hard enough if Ros had told him upfront that he was leaving, but, no—he'd left without a word, and this made her very angry. She wished there was some way to show her old friend how much Alba was suffering without him. She wished that Ros had told Alba he was leaving, so at least he could have time to prepare and steel himself for the loneliness he was going to experience. But now it was like a tsunami, something he couldn't stop, couldn't fight against, no matter how hard he tried. He'd told her one day, when he was slightly more stable, more clear-headed: "It's weird, like...there's this huge hole in my heart now. I can't stand walking home. Not without him. Just looking there, at the place where he used to be...it...it hurts, Rchi."

She felt horrible, she really did. But she didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to get him out of this rut. His friends tried to help: Foyfoy, Ares, Hime, Janua, Sanejima, Teuffel. But nothing they did made any difference. No, it just seemed like they only helped in making things worse.

It was the same routine. Wake up, eat breakfast, walk to school, ignore everyone and everything that reminded him of Ros, walk home, try to call him, text him, give up, do homework, shower, eat dinner, try to call him again, give up again, and then cry himself to sleep.

He hated it, really. But he himself wasn't sure what to do. What could he do? He was depressed. He didn't know where to go, who to talk to. Rchi was always there for him, but there was only so much she could do. He was alone. Alone, without Ros. Without his best friend. Without the person he cherished most in the world...

_Message failed to send._

"..."

_Message failed to send._

"..."

_Message failed to send._

"..."

_"We are sorry. The number you are trying to reach no longer exists. We apologize for the inconvenience."_

"..."

_"We are sorry. The number you are trying to reach no longer exists. We apologize for the inconvenience."_

"..."

No more. Bedtime again.

Alba curled up under the covers, holding his favorite stuffed animal close. He was surprised to learn that tears wouldn't come this night, as they usually did. So he just sighed and lapsed into a couple of dry sobs before drifting off to sleep.

_Ros...Ros...come back...please..._

_I need you. Please..._

_Come back to me._

* * *

_Message failed to send._

"..."

_Message failed to send._

"..."

_Message—_

**Ros:** Whaaaaat?

Alba screamed and fell over in his chair.

He lay there on the floor, dazed.

No, this couldn't be happening.

He was dreaming.

He _had_ to be.

It had been months. Almost five months since Ros had left, five months Alba had had to walk home by himself, five months that he'd tried to text him and had received no reply.

It just wasn't possible!

...Was it?

Alba stared at his phone screen for a good three minutes before he realized that Ros was probably waiting on a response, so he hurriedly typed one in.

**Me:** Wait.

**Me:** Are you seriously here?

He waited.

**Ros:** What do u mean by that, hero? Ur weird

Alba stood up, straightened out his chair.

And then he screamed again.

He started dancing around his room, holding his phone close to his chest, joyful tears sliding down his face. He was so happy. So unbelievably happy. Ros was here...well, not _here,_ but he answered his phone, _finally._

_He's back...I can talk to him again..._

**Me:** What the heck?! Where did you go?! Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?! You IDIOT!

**Ros:** How dare u yell at me like that, hero? This is exactly y I didn't want 2 tell u

**Me:** I'm sorry.

**Ros:** That's better. And I'm not telling u where I went. I don't want u stalking me!

**Me:** I WOULDN'T DO THAT!

**Ros:** Hahaha, it's been so long since I've gotten 2 hear u freak out

**Ros:** I kinda missed it

**Me:** Yeah, well.

**Me:** I missed you, too.

**Ros:** Ewww, gross. I didn't say I missed u, hero. Ur always taking things the wrong way.

**Me:** YOU JERK!

**Ros:** C? I missed that, not u. Get ur facts straight

**Me:** I can't believe you...

**Ros:** So how is everyone? Have FF and Hime gotten together yet?

**Me:** No. Ares is working on it, though.

**Ros:** Lol sounds like her

Alba smiled, wiping away tears.

**Me:** Why didn't you tell me?

He waited. Ros didn't respond for a few minutes.

Then,

**Ros:** I didn't want u 2 get upset and get your gross tears on me

**Me:** UGH! Come on! Seriously, though.

Another few minutes of waiting.

**Ros:** I didn't want u 2 get depressed

**Ros:** Ur not as fun 2 tease when ur all mopey

Alba laughed quietly.

_So, that's the best I'm getting out of you, huh?_

**Me:** Alright...I'm still mad, though.

**Me:** It's been really tough without you.

**Ros:** Wow ur such a wimp hero

**Ros:** What, u can't even walk 2 school without me?

**Me:** :( I CAN TOO, thank you very much!

**Ros:** Cute emoticon. It suits u

**Me:** SHUT UP

**Ros:** Fine if u say so

**Me:** NO WAIT

**Me:** Don't you DARE put your phone away on me!

**Ros:** Lol hero yr u so clingy? Do u miss me that much?

Alba buried his head in his hands and moaned, cheeks a brilliant red.

_Well, he's not here to see my reaction. Or kick me. Or punch me. So..._

**Me:** Actually, yes. I do miss you.

He waited for a while, smiling.

_He doesn't know what to say._

**Ros:** Hmm

**Ros:** I have 2 admit it's weird not having u around

Alba grinned, his heart beginning to race.

**Me:** By the way, what happened with your phone? I couldn't text or call you for a while...

**Ros:** Oh that's easy. I blocked ur number!

**Me:** WHAT WHY?!

**Ros:** I didn't want u bombarding me with texts like u r now

**Ros:** Seriously I'm gonna run out of texts pretty soon

**Me:** Don't you have unlimited data though?

**Ros:** Dammit I thought u would've forgotten

**Me:** SO YOU DO WANT TO STOP TALKING TO ME!

**Ros:** Hahahaha there u go again hero

**Me:** I can't stand you sometimes. Honestly.

**Ros:** So wait y are u still texting me then?

**Me:** Whatever. That's not important.

**Ros:** Ahh hero I gtg

Alba frowned.

**Me:** No! Why?

**Ros:** Sorry I have some things I gotta do

**Me:** Wait don't block me again!

**Ros:** I won't don't worry

**Ros:** I'm comin back 2 Japan eventually 2 get some stuff I left behind so we'll c each other soon

Alba's heart fluttered. He spun around in his chair a few times, squealing.

**Me:** Wait really? When?

**Ros:** A few days I think

Alba leaped out of his chair.

_Yes!_

**Me:** Seriously? That's great! We can all hang out together again!

**Ros:** We'll c

**Ros:** I can only stay 4 a day so it's gonna b a short visit, but yeah sure. But don't tell anybody about it, I want it to b a surprise. And if I wake up 2 find that I have like 70 text messages from u I'm gonna b pissed

**Me:** Haha I wouldn't go that far!

**Ros:** Alright I really gtg bye Alba

Alba flopped down into his futon, positively beaming. He was smiling so hard he was surprised his face hadn't started to hurt.

_Ros...Ros is coming back to Japan! To see me! I can't believe it!_

For the first time in a while, it seemed as if things were looking up at last. And while Alba snuggled into sleep, clutching his phone to his chest, he thought that nothing could ruin the moment of happiness he'd finally found in his five months of dreary sadness.

But he was wrong.


	4. One Day More

"Alba, dear! Time for breakfast!"

Alba sprang up out of bed that bright morning. It was Wednesday, which meant that Ros would be returning in only two days.

_Two more days,_ Alba thought excitedly as he pulled on his school uniform. _Two more days, and then I'll be able to see him again._

He raced down the stairs, messenger bag slung over his shoulder, and wandered into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mom!" He greeted with a smile. Alba's mother, a very simple woman, turned and blinked at him in surprise.

"Good morning, dear. You seem to be in a good mood today...why's that?" It seemed like her little boy had been very gloomy for the past few months. She'd heard the news that one of his friends moved away, and ever since then, he'd been so down. She was glad to see that he was much happier than usual.

Alba simply smiled at her. "It's a secret," he told her giddily, quickly finishing his breakfast.

Alba's mother watched in complete astonishment as her son ran out the door, humming to himself. A small grin settled on her face.

_I'm glad he's doing better,_ she thought before returning to her work.

* * *

Alba walked into the classroom that morning, beaming. "Good morning, everyone!" He exclaimed.

Rchi looked up in surprise, jaw dropping at the sight of the normally sullen Alba, who was now humming a tune as he sat down and got out several notebooks to prepare for class.

"Alba...san?" She called out tentatively.

Teuffel raised his head from the book he was reading, face gaining an expression of pleasant shock.

"Hi, Rchi-chan!" Alba grinned at her.

Rchi slowly walked over to his desk, still unable to believe what she was seeing. "You seem...different. But in a good way, I mean! Um...what happened?"

Alba chuckled, eyes bright and determined. "It's a secret~ Maybe I'll tell you later."

Rchi stared at him for a moment before she finally smiled back at him. "Alright. I'm just glad to see that you're doing so well!"

Alba giggled and turned back to his desk before pulling out his phone and scrolling through the text messages from the night before.

Teuffel watched him from a distance, a somewhat thawed expression on his face.

_He's doing better...oh, I'm so glad._

It was so nice to see that Alba had returned the person he used to be before... _he_...left. At the thought of him, Teuffel wrinkled his nose in distaste. He didn't particularly hate Ros, but he didn't like him, either. He was the cause of all of Alba's pain...Teuffel could never forgive him for that.

The truth was, Teuffel had been watching Alba for a long time. He really liked him, for some reason. The boy's light brown hair and sparkling eyes always caught his attention. Teuffel admired his strength and determination to see things through, his kindness and pure intentions towards everything around him, his endless optimism and good heart. It had been a while since he'd seen that Alba, due to Ros' disappearance, and now that the old Alba—the _real_ Alba—had returned, he couldn't be happier.

He wanted to reach out to him, to tell him his feelings, but he wasn't sure how. Teuffel had always been a shy person, and speaking to new people always made him nervous. Even though people like Ares and Hime reached out to him (that and Ares practically _forced_ him to become friends with her) he still had a hard time doing so himself.

He liked Alba...no, he really, _really_ liked him. But how could he convey that to him when he couldn't even speak properly around him?

He wanted to replace Ros. He wanted to be the one to make Alba forget about him. He wanted Alba to pay attention to _him,_ not the guy who couldn't even stay to support Alba. But he didn't know how...

How could he steal the heart of a person whose heart had already been stolen?

* * *

Alba skipped down the pathway to home, phone clutched in his grip. He'd texted Ros at lunch time, and the conversation went something like this:

**Me:** Hey!

**Ros:** Oh, hero. I was wondering when u were gonna start annoying me again

**Me:** HEY!

**Me:** Why are you so mean? I only said hi!

**Ros:** I can almost imagine u doing it.

**Ros:** So unmanly and hero-like, heh heh

**Me:** ;(

**Ros:** Don't be sad, hero. U can always fall down the stairs at school!

**Me:** YOU SADIST!

**Ros:** Lol

**Ros:** So what did u want anyway?

**Me:** Nothing. Just wanted to say hi.

**Me:** You're coming on Friday, right?

**Ros:** Yup

**Ros:** I'll b there around lunchtime

**Me:** ^_^ Okay

**Ros:** Whoa hero chill

**Ros:** Ur getting way 2 excited over this, it's kinda creepy.

**Me:** :p Whatever! I can feel however I want to feel!

**Ros:** Whoa, isn't that a line from that 1 shoujo manga? Wow hero, I didn't know u were into that stuff! How disgusting!

**Me:** What shoujo manga? I don't even read that kind of stuff!

**Ros:** Suuuuuree. But when I get there on Friday I'll look under ur mattress and find hordes of shoujo manga! Omg, r u a closet otaku hero?

**Me:** NO DAMMIT, I'M NOT!

**Ros:** Oooh ur cussing now? That's kinda hot

**Me:** 0\\\\\0 WHAT?!

**Ros:** Pfft ur so easy 2 tease hero.

**Me:** Meanie!

**Ros:** Ah I gtg again, class is starting soon

**Me:** Oh, me too...text you later tonight?

**Ros:** Ew don't make it sound like we're dating! And no I've got plans

**Ros:** Just text me Friday

**Me:** :-/ Okay

**Ros:** What, u can't even survive without me 4 a day? Pathetic.

**Me:** What?! I can too! Fine, just watch me! I won't text you until Friday!

**Ros:** It's a deal. No backing out now!

**Me:** AHH!

**Me:** YOU TRICKED ME!

**Ros:** That was the whole point duh

**Ros:** Bell's ringing, gtg

**Me:** Fine, bye.

**Me:** See you Friday?

**Ros:** Yep Friday

Even though he'd been tricked into not texting Ros for a day, he didn't mind. He could handle it just fine!

_One more day..._ he thought, trembling with excitement. _Just one more day...!_


	5. Apple Tree of Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I almost forgot to mention--this story has cover art! I made it a while ago (like, July of last year) so it's pretty outdated, but if you wanna see it go here: http://shimasteam2112.deviantart.com/art/Shadows-Are-Darker-in-the-Light-546900874  
> I might redo it in the future, who knows~!
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! Things start getting pretty serious from here...!

Alba wasn't sure how he managed to last through that Thursday. The anticipation of seeing Ros the next day was nearly killing him. That and he couldn't even text Ros because of the deal he'd made. He knew that he could always just forget about it and text Ros anyway, but he didn't want to prove to Ros that he was weak and really _couldn't_ survive a day without him.

So he forced himself to wait it out. It was a struggle, especially getting through school, but he managed. And as soon as he'd gotten all of his chores and homework done for the night, he went straight to sleep.

Which didn't help much because he couldn't really sleep, anyway.

Finally, Friday arrived. Everyone was excited for that day, but Alba was excited for it for completely different reasons. He raced off to school right after breakfast, giving his mom a hasty goodbye, who smiled at his antics.

Alba was jumpy all morning long, gaining him some questioning glances from his friends, but he knew he'd have to keep his promise and not tell them that Ros was coming until he met up with him first.

Alba almost started screaming in excitement by the time lunch rolled around. When Rchi asked him if he wanted to join her for lunch, he simply shook his head and said, "Sorry, I've got plans today!"

Giggling madly to himself, he descended the staircase, almost tripping along the way. He didn't want to make Ros' prediction about that come true, so he slightly slowed his pace until he reached the bottom, and then he was rushing again.

Teuffel watched him from afar, curiously raising an eyebrow. For some reason, it seemed as if Alba was even more joyful today than any other day. He then realized that Alba wasn't joining Rchi and the rest of their friends for lunch.

_Might as well go see what he's up to,_ the teen thought before beginning to follow him.

* * *

Alba arrived at the apple tree on the edge of the school grounds, panting. This was a very special place to him, because...

It was the place where he and Ros had first met.

He could recall the details of their meeting so clearly in his mind.

_Alba stared up at the enormous tree, awed by its size and beauty. He gently traced his fingers along the worn trunk, smiling as the breeze played with his hair._

_It was the start of a brand new school year. Alba had finally made it into highschool, and he was more than excited to start the year off by meeting new friends and forming relationships. He'd already met a young girl named Rchi, who seemed really nice._

_"Pretty, isn't it?" A voice called out from behind him._

_Turning, Alba came face-to-face with another teenage boy, and his breath immediately got caught in his throat._

_The boy was tall and strong-looking, with spiky black hair and the most mesmerizing crimson eyes Alba had ever seen. He was looking at him with a slightly amused expression on his face, holding on to his backpack strap with one hand._

_Maybe it was love at first sight, Alba couldn't be sure. But he knew, he knew that this boy was special._

_"Hey," the boy called out again, raising an eyebrow. "You in there?"_

_Alba jumped, a blush rising to his cheeks for being caught staring. "Um, yes, sorry, hi!"_

_The other boy chuckled. "What are you doing out here? You know that class is gonna start soon, right?"_

_Alba squeaked, looking around in alarm. "O-oh, really? Um, I was just...looking at the apple tree. It's the biggest one I've ever seen..."_

_The boy looked up at it, eyes glimmering with pain for a second. "...Yeah, it is."_

_Alba watched him, confused. "S-so, um..."_

_"Say, what's your name?" The other boy cut him off._

_The brunette fidgeted in his spot for a moment before he replied, "It's, uh, it's Alba. My name's Alba."_

_The crimson-eyes teen crossed his arms and smirked. "Alba, huh? That almost sounds like a hero's name."_

_"A...a hero's name?" Alba asked in surprise._

_"Yeah, you know, like those heroes in all the popular shows on TV nowadays." He shot him a mischievous glance, "So, Hero, do you watch that kind of stuff? You seem like the type. Maybe you want to be just like them?"_

_Alba's mouth dropped in shock. How...how_ rude! _"Wh-what?! What are you talking about? I do_ not! _"_

_The boy tutted and shook his head. "Denial is the first step to acceptance, you know."_

_Alba fumed. "Oh, yeah?! Well, how do I know that_ you _don't want to be a hero like them?!"_

_Suddenly, the black-haired teen shot forward like a bullet, twisting a well-aimed punch into his stomach. Alba wheezed and fell over from the impact, curling in on himself from the pain._

_The boy straightened himself out, gaining a bored expression. "Don't make false accusations, Hero. That'll only get you into trouble!"_

_Alba glanced up at him, tears in his eyes. "Wha...what is your...problem?"_

_The boy looked down at him for a moment and then he offered him a hand. Cautiously, Alba stared at it before finally deciding to take it. He was immediately swung off his feet when the other teen pulled him up so fast he almost stumbled again._

_He found himself being steadied by strong hands, and then there were a pair of crimson eyes boring into his._

_"The name's Ros," Ros said, grinning. Alba felt his breath catch in his throat again. "Nice to meet you, Hero."_

It had been almost a year and a half since that day. Alba soon learned that his newfound friend was sarcastic, rude, and extremely sadistic, especially when it came to Alba himself. But Alba was smart, and he could see that, beneath the surface, Ros was actually a very compassionate person who cared a lot about others. Alba didn't dare bring that up aloud, though, or he knew he'd receive a kick to the knees or a punch to the gut.

And here he found himself again, standing beneath their precious apple tree, heart pounding from nerves and excitement to see Ros again.

What would they do together, he wondered? There was so many things he longed to tell him, wanted to show him...

He glanced down at his phone, took a deep breath, and texted:

**Me:** I'm at our apple tree...are you here yet?

He stood there in silence for what seemed like a long time. Finally, after about ten minutes of waiting, he finally received a reply.

**Ros:** Behind u

Alba smiled, took a shuddering breath, and turned around.

"Ro—''

And his blood turned to ice.


	6. Demon Behind the Mask

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, everyone on FFnet is in such an uproar now that the story has been completed! They all seem to be happy that it's finally finished, but also very sad due to the bittersweet ending. (I hope they all forgive me someday.)
> 
> Hope you guys like this chapter! Again, sorry for the shortness, the chapters start getting longer around 9 or so.

_What...?_

"Heya, Alba-kun," the figure standing in front of him said, smiling. "Good to see ya again!"

Alba stared, unresponsive, unable to believe what was going on.

Just what the hell was happening here?

"Oh?" The teen said, tilting his head to the side. "Ya seem so surprised. I guess I did too good of a job impersonating Ros-san, then! Eheheheh!"

Alba opened and closed his mouth a few times before he managed to gather the courage to speak. "Wh...E-Elf-san? B-but I thought...didn't you graduate last year?"

Elf November was a tall, lanky teen with tan skin and spiky black hair, completely different to Ros' own style. He was dressed in his usual clothing: a tanktop and shorts. He'd been a troublesome senior at Alba's school, but luckily Alba only had to deal with him for a year before he went off to college.

Elf looked about lazily, but his black eyes somehow managed to pierce Alba straight through to his core. What Alba didn't understand, though, was why Elf was there and Ros wasn't. Wait, did he just say something about impersonating...?

Before Alba could make the connection, Elf chuckled. "I sure did! But, eh, I was feeling mighty bored, so when I heard that Ros-san moved away and deleted his number, I hacked into the cellphone database and stole it, see?" He held up his cellphone, which had a bright green case. "So now Ros-san's old number is my new number! I figured I'd text ya and tease ya a bit, but ya took everything so seriously! It was kinda cute, actually. So then I figured I'd play along for a bit. I'm surprised ya fell for it so easily! I've only talked to Ros-san a few times, but I guess it's not that hard to act like him, hmm?"

Alba began to tremble violently. So...it was all a lie? It had actually been Elf texting him all this time...?

It had been Elf who had gotten his hopes up, brought back what little joy he used to have, made him feel like the happiest person in the world, and not Ros...?

"You...you..." Alba's entire body shook as a hot, red rage washed over him. "You _bastard!_ "

Elf giggled quietly. "Whoa, no need to get so angry, yeah? I was only playin', yer the one to blame for falling for it so easily." His eyes narrowed to slits. "Ya shouldn't take it out on me, because, in reality, it's yer fault."

"How _dare_ you?!" Alba shouted, voice cracking. "How could you do something like this?! Playing around with people's emotions?! You're...you're absolutely _sick!_ "

Elf's eyes lit up. "Oooh, I didn't know ya could be so intimidating, Alba-kun! I have to say, ya look really charming like that..."

"Shut the hell up! What is _wrong_ with you?! I can't believe you'd _do_ something like this!" He was being really loud, but he didn't care. All he was seeing was red. Irritation. Anger. Hostility. Wrath. Outrage. Fury. These emotions were his core, his very being.

"Oh, yes...how wonderful...yer face..." Elf licked is lips. "I quite like it."

"You _bastard!_ " Alba screamed. _"I'll kill you!"_

He charged forward in a blind rage, another ferocious scream tearing out from his throat. He couldn't describe what he wanted to do to this guy. No matter what, he just wanted it to end in a broken, crying, beaten Elf, bloody and bruised—

_No!_

Alba stopped short, gasping. Elf caught him before he could topple over.

Tears began to slide down his cheeks. No...what was wrong with him? Why would he ever think such horrible things? He wasn't the type of person to wish death, not even pain, upon another!

_How...how_ could _I...?_

"It's gone," Elf whispered into his ear. "Yer rage. It's all gone now...it was so beautiful..."

Alba began to tremble as another wave of fresh new emotions washed over him.

Terror. Horror. Fright. Dread. Panic.

Fear.

"Ah, but...look at ya now...yer expression...it's...it's..." Elf's eyes widened, and he almost looked insane. "P-perfect...absolutely..."

Alba squealed as the older teen suddenly grabbed his face and crushed their lips together.

He cried out in surprise, trying to break free, but Elf was too strong.

No, no! This wasn't what he wanted! He didn't want his first kiss to be stolen from some freak!

He started crying again, desperately struggling to get away.

_Somebody, help me!_

Elf finally released him, and he stumbled back, gasping. He opened his mouth to scream, to cry out for help, but Elf was already upon him, clamping his hand over Alba's mouth before he could let out a sound.

"Now, now," Elf soothed, stroking his cheek with his other hand, "let's not do somethin' rash, okay?"

Alba's entire body was shaking now, and he honestly wasn't sure how he was still standing up.

Elf's eyes softened. "Be a good boy and take a nap. When ya wake up, everything will be aaaallll better, I promise."

Alba yelped when something connected with the back of his skull, and then everything went black.

Elf scooped up the limp boy into his arms, gazing down at his young face.

"I sure didn't expect to find such a perfect little morsel just by textin' a couple people to mess around." He hummed cheerfully to himself as he began to walk away from the apple tree. "How I didn't notice ya sooner is beyond me, Alba-kun. But now yer all mine, and I'm never, _ever_ gonna let you go again~! Who needs Ros when you have me, right?"

He walked out of the school grounds, formulating plans in his head.

Teuffel emerged from behind the apple tree, legs quaking with fear.

_Oh, no..._ he thought, unsure of what to do. _A-Alba's in trouble...!_


	7. Losing Himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING. This chapter contains torture. Please, please don't read it if it upsets you. (Lol it's not too bad since I suck at writing torture, or at least when I wrote this chapter a year ago I did, so keep that in mind I guess?)

When Alba came to, he immediately started freaking out.

Wherever he was, it was dark. There was duct tape over his mouth, and he found that his wrists and ankles were tied together. Tears started forming in his eyes again, and he began to cry, lashing out in an attempt to escape.

_No...why is this happening? Where am I? Why am I tied up? Wh...whe..._

He froze.

_Elf...it has to be Elf. He...he must've knocked me out and taken me here..._ he paused, looking around, trying to see something, _anything,_ in the darkness. _Wherever_ here _is..._

He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

_Okay, Alba. Let's not have a panic attack. Let's think about this rationally...what would Ros do in this situation?_

He almost smiled thinking about it.

_Knowing him, he'd glare at his kidnapper, and as soon as he got the chance, he'd break free and beat them so hard that they wouldn't be able to see straight for days..._

He sighed. _But there's no way I can possibly pull that off._ He sat there for a while longer, pondering. _Well, I obviously can't pull a Ros, so what would I, Alba, the hero, do in this situation?_

He stared into the darkness for a long time.

_Wait it out and see what happens?_

He shook his head back and forth. _No, no! Think of something better than that, you idiot...!_

Just then, he heard a strange creaking sound. Eyes narrowing, Alba knew that it had to be Elf who was coming to see him.

He flinched away from the sudden light that flooded his vision. Elf stood there, not too far away, a candle in his hand.

"Oh, Alba-kun! Yer awake!" He cheered, smiling.

Alba sent him a glare that was so full of hatred, he was surprised that the older teen didn't seem fazed by it.

"I like that look on yer face," Elf commented, coming to sit beside him. "It's nice, but the one where ya look all hopeless and defeated is even better. I'll havta bring out that one soon."

The brunette fought off a sudden wave of fear that was threatening to wash over him. _No, I can't be scared. I can do this. Just think about Ros. Ros wouldn't be scared by this at all._

He took a moment to steel himself. Yes, if he thought about Ros, it would give him courage. He was going to be just fine. If he just kept thinking about Ros, he could find the strength to never give up.

Elf looked at him for a long time, and then he smiled. "So, Alba-kun, are ya gonna let me take off that duct tape?"

Alba growled lowly at him. _I'll scream._

Elf met his hostility with absolute indifference. "Don't be that way. How can I kiss ya properly if you have duct tape over yer mouth?"

Alba gave him a look of disgust. _Who'd ever want to kiss_ you?

Elf's eyes narrowed. "Don't be this way, Alba-kun. Or do ya want me to use force?"

Alba rolled his eyes. _Oh, please. Like you can force me to do anything._

"I wouldn't sass me, if I were ya. I was the one that tied ya up." Elf suggested quietly.

Alba snarled at him to the best of his ability. _Can't you just let me go already?_

Elf shook his head back and forth. "Fine. I didn't think ya'd be so stubborn, so I didn't want to have to show ya this. But, here," and he pulled a knife out of his pocket.

Alba stiffened immediately, his eyes growing large. Things would be much different now that Elf had brought a weapon into play.

Elf giggled. "Will ya be a good boy now?"

Alba stared at the knife, breath shallow. What else could he do? If he just let Elf have his way, he wouldn't get hurt...

Would he?

"I'm gonna take off that duct tape now," Elf stated. He gently peeled it off of Alba's face, who winced at the pain.

"There. Better!" He smiled. Alba opened his mouth. "Now, Alba-kun, ya'd better not scream, or my friend will have to give ya a warning," he cut him off, gesturing to the knife.

Alba closed his mouth, frowning. Then, he opened it again, but this time to speak. "Why are you doing this?" He whispered harshly. His throat was dry and his lips were chapped. Everything was sore and achy, but he tried not to let it show.

Elf leaned forward and kissed him swiftly. Alba jumped back, gritting his teeth.

Elf gave him a pleasant grin. "'Cause, I think yer adorable," he said.

Alba felt a blush creeping up to his ears, and he begged for it to go away. He should not be flattered from getting compliments from such a horrible person!

"I like yer expressions, especially when yer scared," Elf commented. "I didn't realize it before, but I like ya quite a lot. I knew I felt somethin' when I was textin' ya as Ros-san."

Alba backed himself up, squeaking when he hit the wall behind him. He was trapped.

"Now, show me more of those expressions," Elf whispered. "If ya play along and do what I say, I'll let ya go."

He crawled forward on his hands and knees. Alba squeezed his eyes shut and begged, begged to any god that would listen, that somebody would realize he was missing from school and try to look for him.

He whimpered when he felt Elf kiss him again, more harshly than the last time. He didn't want to count how many seconds passed before Elf moved away to catch his breath.

"Ahh, yes," Elf breathed. "Perfect. Ya look so submissive and scared of me. I love it." He glanced down at the knife on the floor, biting his lip.

More. He needed to see more...

What better way than to make him hurt?

"Sorry, Alba-kun," Elf said, not sounding apologetic at all. "I know I told ya I wouldn't use it unless ya start misbehaving, but I can't think of a better way to make you scream than this."

Alba began to suck in breaths harshly, eyes wide with terror. He pressed himself further against the wall, almost as if he were trying to merge into it and disappear.

_Ros...Ros..._

Why? He couldn't find the courage to fight back.

_Help me..._

This couldn't be happening. Elf was going to...he was going to...

"N-n-no, please," he begged, tears making their way down his face again. He was terrified. "P-please don't. I-I-I'll do anything you s-say, just don't hurt me!"

_Ros...Ros! Ros,_ help me!

Elf started laughing. "Oh, yes! How wonderful! Oh, yes, look at yer face, it's perfect! So scared and afraid..." He came back, pinning Alba against the wall. "Show me more... _more._ "

He pressed the edge of the knife into Alba's cheek. Alba cried out as hot, searing pain engulfed him.

_Ros...! Please, it hurts!_

_Help me!_ Help me!

"Yes! Yes! More! _Amazing!_ " Elf cackled madly. Alba began to sob loudly, shaking against the wall.

_No more...someone, help...please..._

"Here..." Elf sang, slicing his collarbone. Alba screamed. "And here, too..." He cut his shoulder. "And there and there and _theeerrreee~_ "

His chest, his wrists, his legs, his arms, his stomach, his ankles. It felt like his entire body was on fire, like it was consuming all of him, even his soul. He screamed and screamed for what seemed like forever, throat going dry, voice cracking and breaking.

"Yer screams...they sound so lovely..." Elf chuckled, almost insanely. "Aha...ahahaha haha _hahahaha!_ "

Hours passed. Alba screamed until he couldn't make a sound anymore. Eventually all that came out of his mouth were silent sobs and breathless shrieks. He slumped against the wall, broken, empty, gone. There was nothing left of him anymore. Elf had taken his spirit and crushed it beyond repair.

"Hmm. Yer kinda boring me now," Elf muttered after a while. He stood up, the bloody knife in his hand. "I'll come back when yer feeling better, okay~? So for now, be patient and wait for me!" And with that, he skipped out of the room, leaving a confused boy in his wake.

* * *

Everything hurt. It was painful, all around. He embraced the pain, though. The pain reminded him that he was still alive, still human.

Ah, wait. Who was he, again...? He couldn't remember. Wasn't there someone he was waiting to see, to meet? Who was it...?

R...Ro...Ros. It was Ros, right? Who was Ros? He was somebody important, right?

He tried to remember. He had...black hair...and he was kind...and he was always with him, always...

So why wasn't he there now?

_He must be coming for me,_ he thought, staring ahead blankly. _He's on his way. He'll save me. I know it._

_My Ros..._


	8. Beautiful Delusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you're probably upset that I made Elf into the bad guy, but I didn't really have anyone else to play the part. I wanted it to be someone who's comfortable with Alba in the actual series and who's viewed as a villain in it, as well, so I knew having it be Rchimedes the first or Dezember or even Juli would be too weird. So Elf it was! He's had many interactions with Alba, and I like their complicated relationship with each other. So that's why.
> 
> Hope you like this chapter! A certain someone is coming to the rescue...!

The silence was deafening. He sat in the darkness for a long time—how long, he couldn't be sure, he stopped counting after second one thousand fifty-two—wondering, pondering, on who he was.

It took a while for it all to come back, but he remembered eventually.

He was Alba, the hero. He had lots of friends, like Rchi and Foyfoy and Ares. He was a sophomore in highschool. His mother was a wonderful woman, and his father was a brave adventurer who traveled the world. His favorite number was forty-five. He had brown hair and honey-colored eyes. He was fifteen. He was a little short for his age. He wasn't that strong. He was planning on taking kendo to help him get stronger.

He was in love with a boy named Ros.

But Ros wasn't there anymore. Ros left him five months ago, without a word. But then he started getting texts from Ros. But those texts weren't actually from Ros, they were from an evil person named Elf who kissed him and knocked him out and tied him up and sta—

Alba erupted into shivers. No, he wasn't going to think about that. He'd just gotten his sanity back, he didn't want to lose it again by remembering that horrible incident.

Think about something better. Ros. Ros is...

He loved Ros. He loved him a lot.

He couldn't really remember him that much. It'd been so long since he'd seen him. But he recalled a lot of the important things about him.

Ros was tall. Ros had black, spiky hair. Ros acted mean to him, but he was actually a really kind person. Ros was pale. Ros didn't really like talking to other people. But Ros always liked talking to him, to Alba.

Ros was—

Suddenly, the door to wherever he was being held creaked open. Alba immediately shuffled back, eyes wide. He opened his mouth to scream, but found that no sounds were coming out. Ah, right. Elf had taken away his voice. He wondered if he could get it back, somehow.

A silhouette appeared in front of him, but it wasn't the person he was expecting.

Whoever they were, they were tall, with black spiky hair and pale skin...

No, it _couldn't_ be—

"Oh my god, Alba," the person breathed. Alba stared back at them, speechless. The person came forward and wrapped him up in a tight embrace.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you..." The figure whispered into his ear while cutting the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles.

Alba began to shake.

They pulled away, looking at him with an apprehensive expression. "...Alba?"

Alba's eyes filled up with tears. They slipped past his eyelashes and slid down his face and dampened his cheeks.

"Oh, Alba..." The boy murmured.

It was him. He'd come back. He found him.

It was him. It was him. It was—

" _Ros!_ " Alba cried, launching forward and flinging his arms around Ros' neck. The teen stiffened immediately, but Alba didn't notice.

"Ros, oh, _Ros!_ " Alba sobbed into his shoulder. "Y-you're here! You're really here!"

Ros slowly returned his hug. He seemed unsure. But why?

"Alba..."

"I knew you'd come for me..." Alba laughed breathlessly.

"Oh, god," he heard Ros moan, "what did that bastard do to you?"

"I waited for so long. I knew you'd find me. I just knew it. So even when that guy kept cutting me open, I thought of you and I knew you'd come to save me so I wasn't worried at all and I just closed my eyes and didn't pay attention to the pain because I knew you'd find me soon." Alba rambled, nuzzling his face into Ros' hair.

Ros began to shake against him. "Oh god, oh god," Ros whimpered, "what did he do to you? What did he do?"

Alba pulled away and looked at Ros' face curiously. "He only cut me up a little, but I'm fine 'cause you're here." He paused, frowning. "Why did you take so long, Ros? I waited for such a long time."

He watched as Ros started to cry. But why? Why was he crying?

"Th...that bastard," Ros wept. Tears kept falling down his face like a waterfall. "I-I'll kill him."

Kill...?

Kill. Kill. Kill.

No.

Somebody was going to get hurt again?

Alba backed away, vision blurring.

Ros wiped his eyes and looked at him, concerned. "Alba?"

"N...no," Alba gasped, his back hitting the wall. Elf was here. But why? Where was Ros?

Did he take Ros away?

Elf reached out for him. "Al—"

" _No!_ " Alba screamed, slapping his hand away. "Don't touch me! Leave me alone! Where's Ros?! Where did you put him?! _Bring him back!_ "

Elf looked alarmed. "Alba—"

"Don't hurt me!" Alba started crying again. "P-please don't hurt me! Give Ros back! I want Ros! I want—"

He started yelling at the top of his lungs when Elf hugged him.

" _Let me go!_ " He shrieked, "Let me go! Ros! _Roooossss!_ "

"Alba, Alba! It's okay! It's okay, I'm here!" The person said frantically into his ear. "It's me. I've got you. It's gonna be alright."

Alba slumped against him, trembling. Who was this person? It couldn't be Elf. Elf would be cutting him up by now. So it had to be...yes, it had to be...

"Ros," he sobbed. "R-Ros. Where did you go? I called out for you over and over and you didn't answer me. I waited and you didn't come. Why? Why didn't you help me?"

"Oh, Alba, Alba," Ros rocked him in his arms, sounding close to tears himself. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I—I wanted to find you, I did, but I just..."

"Ros," Alba pleaded quietly, "I want to go home. Please, take me home."

Ros sniffed and nodded against him. "O-okay. Okay. Let's go home."

Alba lifted his arms and Ros picked him up, cradling him to his chest. He drifted in and out of consciousness as Ros snuck out of the horrible place he'd been held captive in.

As Ros carried him down the street towards a large white building with a red cross on it, Alba caught a glimpse of his eyes in the light.

Had Ros' eyes always been black?


	9. Playing Pretend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one for today. I should have the rest uploaded by Sunday.  
> Hope you enjoy!

Teuffel waited outside Alba's hospital room, in deep thought. So much had happened over the last few hours that he was having a hard time comprehending it all.

He'd followed that evil son of a bitch Elf to his apartment. Of course, Teuffel didn't dare follow him inside in fear of being caught. So he paced outside, trying to find another way to get in.

His plans were immediately interrupted the moment he heard Alba start screaming.

It felt as if every nerve in his body had frozen and turned to solid ice when that first shriek escaped the building. He almost began to hope it was just his imagination, but then he heard it again. And again and again and again and again. Over and over, Alba's screams pierced through his body, making him want to hurl. It was so painful to listen to.

Elf was hurting Alba. _His_ Alba. He almost started crying himself. Alba sounded like he was in so much pain.

The obvious thing to do was to call the police. He knew that, but he also knew that Elf wasn't that dumb. Elf would be prepared for that sort of thing to happen. He'd either find some way to escape, or, even worse, kill Alba before the police found him in time. The chances of that happening were low, but Teuffel didn't want to take any unnecessary risks that could mean the death of the person he cared so much about. He hoped that somebody might hear the commotion and try to see what was going on, but Elf's apartment was located in an out-of-the-way place, so there weren't many people around. Not only that, but the building was surrounded by other shady places, since it was downtown, so the noise probably didn't concern other people too much since things like this occurred all the time around the area. So, his hopes for that plan were dashed, as well.

The only other option he had was to go in there and rescue Alba himself.

But, yet again, the risks were too high. What if Elf saw him coming and threatened to kill Alba if he tried to help him escape? Teuffel wasn't strong enough to fight off somebody like Elf, especially since he was a bigger and more well-built college student. Teuffel had his speed, sure, that was why he was on the track team freshman year, but he knew he'd be too afraid to pull it off.

He was a coward, and he hated it.

Eventually Alba's screams died away into nothing. Teuffel feared that Elf really had killed him, but he was reassured when Elf came out of the building, humming to himself.

"Alba-kun sure is a cutie. Well, I should go and get somethin' to eat before I come back to play with him some more~"

Teuffel almost went up and decked him in the face. _Almost._

Once Elf was gone, Teuffel broke into the building and ran all over the place for what seemed like hours until he found Alba locked away in the basement.

What he saw there almost made him burst into tears.

Alba was so broken. Cuts and gashes and bruises littered his body. His eyes were so empty and devoid of life. He looked like he hadn't seen the sun in weeks, though it'd only been a few hours since he was taken away.

Teuffel embraced him upon seeing him, and hurriedly released the boy from his bonds. He could feel Alba's blood soaking into his shirt while he held him.

But that wasn't even the worst part.

He felt as if his heart was being shattered into a million pieces when Alba started calling him Ros.

Out of all the people he could've gotten him confused with, he just _had_ to go and pick Ros. But of course it was him. Everything was his fault to begin with. If Ros hadn't moved away, Alba wouldn't have gotten all those fake text messages. He wouldn't have gotten kidnapped and beaten and whatever else Elf had done to him.

If Teuffel didn't hate him before, he completely despised him now.

But Alba was delirious. He was mangled and marred and highly unstable, so Teuffel knew he'd have to watch himself or the boy would snap, and then he'd _never_ get him back.

So he played along. He pretended to be Ros, just for Alba. But he still couldn't help but break down and cry a little. What had Elf done to him to make him this way? What the hell did he do to break Alba so completely? It pissed him off. He wanted to find that bastard and inflict all the pain he'd caused Alba, but a thousand times worse. Oh, the pleasure he'd get by hearing that asshole scream in absolute agony...

This fury scared Alba badly. Teuffel hadn't meant to say something like that, at least, not in front of the brunette. So when Alba started screaming and crying for Ros, he assumed that role again, gathering him up into his arms and telling him everything would be okay.

Alba asked him to take him home. Teuffel agreed, but he knew he'd have to take the boy to the hospital first. If Alba came home in such a state, it'd probably give his mother a heart attack.

As soon as he got there, after Alba was rushed away to be taken care of, he called the police and informed them what happened. As he hung up the phone, he rubbed his temples.

_Good luck to them,_ he thought, groaning. He was starting to get a headache. _It'll be hard to track down that asshole. Knowing my luck, he's probably halfway across the country by now._

And now there Teuffel was, sitting, waiting. He'd texted everyone he could, telling them that Alba was in the hospital. Foyfoy was on his way now, who was bringing Rchi, and Hime and Ares would be arriving soon, too. Sanejima and Janua were further away, but they were coming, as well.

Teuffel started to hope. No, he started to pray. He begged and pleaded with all his might that Alba would be okay —physically _and_ mentally. He didn't know if his heart could take it if Alba called him Ros again.

But even if he did, and even if Teuffel would have to keep picking up the shattered pieces of his heart, in the end, he knew that if Alba still thought he was Ros, he'd play along anyway.

He was sick. He hated himself for thinking this way. He despised the fact that he actually enjoyed being Ros in that moment, even though it was so nice to have Alba rely on him and need him and want him to be there. Teuffel couldn't be that type of person, but Ros could. And since Ros was everything Alba wanted, and since Alba thought Teuffel was Ros, and since Alba was everything Teuffel ever wanted, he'd play the part. And he'd be disgusted with himself afterwards, for sinking so low, for getting such a sick satisfaction of playing pretend. But...he couldn't _not_ do it.

He raised his head when a nurse emerged from the room. She looked slightly unsettled.

He stood up quickly to confront her, ignoring his nervousness around people for a moment. "Excuse me, but is Alba alright?"

The nurse stopped and stared at him. "You're friends with that boy?"

Teuffel swallowed and nodded.

She sighed and adjusted the clipboard in her arms. "Whatever happened to him, he was cut up pretty bad. Some of the wounds will end up becoming scars. Other than that, he's all patched up...at least, physically."

Teuffel winced at her tone of voice. He knew what was coming, but he still wasn't sure how to brace himself for it.

The nurse continued. "His mental state, on the other hand...is highly unstable. He was ranting throughout his checkup, talking a lot about a boy named Ros..." She gazed down at him curiously. "Is that you?"

Teuffel shook his head. "No...but he thinks I'm Ros."

She blinked in surprise. "Huh? What do you mean? Please, explain."

Teuffel looked away, shuffling his feet. "Ros was...a very dear person to him who moved away half a year ago. Ever since then, he's been really depressed..." He paused, trying to gather himself before he broke down again. "I guess...whatever happened to him in there, he must've gotten me confused with Ros...so now he thinks I'm him..."

The nurse looked alarmed at this. "Oh, dear...this is much worse than we thought..."

Teuffel saw it coming, but that didn't mean it hurt any less to hear.

"I've been talking about this with the other nurses and doctors, and it seems that I'm correct."

Teuffel clenched his fists. "What...? What's wrong with him?"

She let out another long sigh. "It seems he's developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short. It occurs when someone experiences extreme cases of injury, death, or any other traumatic event. He's in a lot of shock due to what happened and, because of this, it seems he's gotten your identity confused with someone whom he longs to see again."

Teuffel stared down at the floor, nodding.

Her voice softened. "I'm so sorry to tell you this. He'll need to receive treatment until he recovers. Until then, can I be sure that you'll stay by his side and support him throughout all of it?"

Teuffel nodded again, tears forming in his eyes. "O-of course," he choked, "Of c-course I will."

She patted his head. "Thanks for bringing him to us before it got any worse." She started walking away, but not before she called, "Take good care of him, kiddo."

Teuffel rubbed his eyes and put on a determined face. Right. He needed to be strong. He needed to be strong because Alba couldn't be strong right now. And he'd continue to be strong until Alba was okay. He wouldn't break down and cry and lose himself until then.

So, with his face set, he slipped into Alba's room. Most of the doctors and nurses that had been ushered in there before were gone now. Alba sat on the bed, sucking on a lollipop. Teuffel bit his knuckles at the sight of him.

He looked much better than he did when Teuffel had found him, that's for sure. But he was still pretty beat up. Bandages and gauze covered all of the places where Elf had cut him, the gauze used for the deeper cuts, including the one on his cheek.

When Teuffel approached him, Alba's eyes settled on him and lit up. Teuffel held his breath in anticipation. From what he could see, they'd regained their normal glimmer, not the milky and distant glaze they'd had when he'd found him in the basement.

_Maybe...?_

"Ros!" Alba cried, sitting up straight.

Teuffel tried not to let his grimace show. Apparently Alba wasn't completely back to normal after all.

_No. You will not cry. You're not going to run away like that asshole. You're strong. You can do this._ He chanted this inside his head as he walked over to the brunette's bed.

"Uh...hi, Alba."

Alba smiled, a bright, beautiful one that had his nerves melting away. "I wanted to see you, but they said that they couldn't let anybody in until they were finished with my checkup. I'm glad you're here now!" He scooted over and threw an arm around Teuffel's neck.

"...I was scared...that you'd left me again..." He admitted quietly.

Teuffel sighed and hugged him back, enjoying the warmth of being in his favorite person's arms. "I wouldn't leave you, silly."

Alba giggled into his neck before he pulled away, twirling the lollipop in his hand. "So, you're staying here, then? You're not leaving?"

Teuffel shook his head. "No, Alba...I'm staying right here."

Alba positively beamed at this. It slowly faded away into a suspicious look. "Hey, call me like you usually do. Hearing you call me Alba all the time sounds so weird now!"

Teuffel blinked at him while he tried to rack his brains for the name. What did Ros always call him? Ugh, he couldn't remember. Was it...H...He...

"Okay, Hero." Ah, that was it! Hero! Why Hero, though? No offense to Alba, but he wasn't exactly the heroic type...

"That's better!" Alba cheered, laughing. Teuffel watched him do so and smiled fondly. Even though Alba wasn't completely back to his usual self, he'd definitely gotten better in the last hour or so.

"So, where did you go? Why did you leave? What made you came back?" Alba asked him questions, one after the other. "I...I was so lonely without you, you know..."

Teuffel winced as he was put on the spot. He'd have to think quickly. What would Ros say in this situation? Luckily for him, he'd had plenty of experience watching people because he'd much rather do that than interact with them, so he'd studied everyone around him when he could. He knew exactly what to say.

Now, the question here was, could he pull it off without sounding really stupid?

"Family matters," he responded. Wait, what? Family matters? Seriously? That was the best he could come up with? "I-I came back to visit everyone for a few days..." Upon Alba's look of panic he added, "B-but, since you got beaten up, Hero, I guess I have no choice but to stay here and make sure you don't...die." Whoa. It almost felt as if he'd just uttered poison. Did Ros really talk this way?

And all the time, too! Teuffel hated being so teasing to Alba. It annoyed him.

Apparently whatever he said worked, because Alba seemed satisfied with his answer. "Okay. But you'd better tell your family that you're staying here a lot longer than you planned!" He tilted his head to the side, eyes growing large. "That's weird. I've never heard you talk about your family before. What are they like?"

Teuffel glanced down at his pocket when his phone buzzed. As he gave Alba a half-hearted response, he read through his text messages.

**Foyfoy:** We're here. Where r u guys?

**Me:** Upstairs, second room to the left. Just try not to be too surprised and play along, okay?

**Foyfoy:** Jesus u make it sound like he's in a coma or something

Teuffel let out a humorless laugh.

**Me:** Not quite. You'll see.

"Rossss? Who are you texting?" Alba asked him, trying to lean over his shoulder and see.

"Ah...uh...none of your business, Hero." He stated gruffly, resisting the urge to smile when Alba stuck his tongue out at him.

Hey, this was actually kinda fun!

A knock sounded at the door. "Alba-saaaaan?"

"Hey, it's Rchi-chan! Come in!" Alba called out.

Foyfoy looked astonished from the other side of the door. "Weird. He sounds fine. But Teuffel made it sound like he'd gone insane."

Rchi shrugged. "Let's just see how he's doing!" And with that, they opened the door.

What they saw surprised them so badly that they became speechless. Alba, on the bed, covered in bandages and wrapped in gauze. Despite his rough exterior, he looked delighted to see them.

"Rchi-chan! Oh, and Foyfoy-kun!" Alba exclaimed joyfully.

"A-Alba-san...what _happened_ to you?!" Rchi cried, hands over her mouth.

Alba chuckled, slightly embarrassed. "Um, well, I kinda got caught in a dangerous situation and got cut up a little. But I'm okay now, honest!" His smile grew even broader. "And look who came to save me! Can you believe it?"

Rchi looked over at Teuffel, who was now sweating. "Teuffel-san? Yes, we knew that already..."

Teuffel knew it was coming. He started fidgeting with his hands out of nervousness.

Alba regarded her with a thoroughly confused stare. "Huh? Teuffel-san? No, that's Ros, silly!" Rchi gaped at him in shock as he continued, "He came all the way here to see me! And he saved me! Isn't that great?"

Foyfoy frowned. "Alba, that's not—" He was cut off when Teuffel made a hand slicing motion across his neck, warning him not to continue. Rchi saw this too and gave him a look that clearly said, "We'll talk about this later" to which Teuffel nodded and clapped his hands together in a "Please play along" motion.

"O-oh, uh...wow, Ros! Good to see you, man!" Foyfoy laughed, a little too loudly.

Rchi, being the smart girl she was, employed her acting skills to the max when she ran forward and hugged Teuffel's waist, crying, "Oh, Ros-san! We've all missed you so much! It's so good to see you again!"

Teuffel smiled and patted her head awkwardly. "Oh, uh...hey, Rchi. N-nice to see you guys too..."

"Now we're all together again," Alba murmured, eyes wavering.

Teuffel's eyes softened. "Al—er, Hero..."

Rchi looked surprised at this, but she quickly shook it off. "...Yeah! Now we can be a trio again!"

Foyfoy scratched the back of his neck, feeling like the fourth wheel in a situation such as this one. "Uh, hey, Te—Ros. Mind if I speak to you outside for a minute?"

Rchi caught on to this. "Oh, yes! I'd like to speak with you, as well..."

Teuffel nodded, almost too enthusiastically. "Oh, yeah, sure! I mean, uh, if you want."

They gathered up outside the door. Once Foyfoy and Rchi left, Alba called out to Teuffel before he could escape the strange atmosphere, as well.

"R-Ros?"

Teuffel turned and almost started squealing at the sight. Alba was looking away, a bashful blush on his cheeks.

_Damn, he's just too cute...!_

"You...you'll come right back...won't you?" He said so quietly that Teuffel almost didn't catch it.

Teuffel smiled at him. "Of course, Hero." Alba looked at him weirdly, so he sputtered and added, "If I don't you'll, uh, probably be really lonely without me, right? You wimp."

Alba's cheeks turned pink and he fisted the hospital sheets in his hands. "Hey!"

Teuffel chuckled, a genuine one, before giving him a wave and leaving the room.

Alba relaxed, slumping against the bedsheets. _Geez,_ he thought, blushing, _he still_ loves _to tease me..._

He stared up at the ceiling, furrowing his eyebrows. _But he seems different. Not that that's a bad thing, but...well, he must've been through a lot while he was gone...he's nicer to me now._ He smiled, his blush intensifying. _I...have to admit...I really like seeing this kind of Ros..._

And even though he was happy about it, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was still wrong.


	10. Hospital Hijinks

"Alright, just what is going on here?" Rchi demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"What's up with Alba thinking you're Ros?" Foyfoy jumped in before Teuffel could open his mouth.

"What happened to him?"

"Is he gonna stay like that?"

"Why is he—"

"Hold on, hold on!" Teuffel said, waving his hands around frantically. "Calm down and let me talk!"

They both gave him annoyed looks, but leaned back and waited for him to speak anyway.

Teuffel took a deep breath and sighed. "He got kidnapped."

Rchi's face paled. Foyfoy gawked at him.

"Wait, _what_?!"

Teuffel told them everything, starting with how he followed Alba to the apple tree during lunch, Alba's conversation with Elf, the kidnapping, Teuffel tracking them to Elf's apartment, the dilemma of being caught, Alba's screams, Elf leaving, his daring rescue, Alba's mental breakdown. They stared at him, wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were hearing. Teuffel had to assure them multiple times that it had actually happened.

Foyfoy slammed his fist into the wall, eyes pools of rage. "That _bastard,_ " he snarled. Rchi didn't seem shocked at his outburst, for she looked quite murderous herself. "The next time I see him, I'm gonna rip his throat out."

"What a horrible thing to do," Rchi whispered harshly. "I hope he gets thrown into jail and stays there the rest of his life."

Teuffel ran a hand through his black locks, exhaling loudly through his nose. "For now, we just need to give Alba all the support he needs so maybe he'll go...back to..." The world started to sway back and forth in front of him.

Rchi grabbed his arm, alarmed. "Teuffel-san?!"

Teuffel steadied himself, rubbing his eyes. "Ah...sorry," he mumbled. "I'm just really tired. It's way past the time I usually go to sleep."

Foyfoy checked his phone and frowned. "Dude, it's only 7:38. Most people are still awake at this hour."

"Have you forgotten that I'm narcoleptic?" Teuffel asked, rolling his eyes.

Foyfoy blanked. "Uh..."

"It's when a person falls asleep a lot and is always really tired," Rchi explained quickly. "He probably goes to sleep early to help with the exhaustion."

"Oh. Sorry, man."

"It's fine...I've been dealing with it my whole life, so..." He glanced around. "Is there a vending machine around here? If I eat something sugary I think I'll be able to stay awake a little longer..."

"Oh, we saw one on the way up!" Rchi said. "Come on, I'll show you the way."

Foyfoy waved as they walked off. "I'll stay here and keep an eye on Alba."

Teuffel nodded. "Okay, thanks."

On their way down, Teuffel and Rchi bumped into some familiar people.

"Oh! There you guys are!"

The duo looked over to see Ares and Hime walking over to them.

"Where's Alba-san? Is he alright?" Hime asked, concerned.

"He's upstairs. Have Foyfoy explain everything to you," Teuffel said, trying to stay awake.

"E-eh?! Fo...you mean he's already here?" Hime squealed, cheeks already beginning to turn pink.

"Hey, you," Ares slapped his shoulder, "you'd better eat something or you'll pass out."

"We're on our way to do that right now," Rchi told her, smiling.

Ares nodded. "Right, then. We'll head on up."

As they walked off towards the stairway, Rchi and Teuffel resumed their walk to the vending machine.

"Say, Teuffel-san, Ares-san seemed to know a lot about your condition," Rchi spoke up quietly from beside him. He looked down at her, blinking rapidly.

"Hmm?"

"Ares-san was the first person to become friends with you, right? You two must be close." She commented casually.

"Uh...yeah, I guess we are." Teuffel shrugged.

Rchi smiled at him. "Could you see yourself dating her in the future?"

Teuffel gasped and tripped over his own feet in surprise. Rchi squeaked and hurried over to help him up from the floor.

"Oh, my, Teuffel-san! Are you alright?"

"Fine, 'm fine," he muttered, hurriedly standing back up.

He walked ahead briskly, eyes lighting up when he spotted the vending machines at the end of the hall.

Rchi caught up to him by the time he got there. Unfortunately, she wasn't willing to drop the subject so easily.

"Sooooo?" She pressed, watching as he chose a packet of Skittles from the machine.

With a sigh, Teuffel fetched the candy and ripped open the package. He'd have to answer her sooner or later.

"I...I don't like Ares that way, so no," he murmured. He popped a few Skittles into his mouth, chewing happily. _Yum._

"So who do you like, then?"

The conversation from almost a half a year ago came flooding back into his head.

_"So, Alba-san, who do_ you _like?"_

_"Wh-wha? I...I don't...I d-don't like anybody."_

That was when everything had been normal and whole and good, when nothing bad ever happened, except maybe Foyfoy's jaw getting broken by Hime's punch. How could things have changed so much in such a short time, he wondered? Now the world was all topsy-turvy and upside-down and backwards and nothing made any sense anymore.

How different would things be if Alba had answered Rchi's question properly that day? Would Ros not have left? Would Alba still be balancing on the edge of insanity, ready to take the plunge any second?

Maybe things would be different. Maybe, if Alba did confess, Ros would have stayed and things wouldn't be so screwed up. Teuffel's heart would be broken, yes, but that was certainly better than dealing with Alba in such a fragile and delicate state.

And, of course, Teuffel went and answered the same way Alba did, anyway.

"I-I don't like anybody."

Rchi lowered her eyes at him. " _Suuuree_ you don't."

But, since she was such a sweet girl, she decided not to push him any further.

* * *

By the time Rchi and Teuffel arrived back upstairs, everyone was already gathered. But instead of the usual lighthearted banter that would be tossed back and forth between them, they were all silent, dazed.

Hime sat in a chair, her head in her arms. Ares stood next to her, leaning against the wall, in deep thought. Janua was staring down at his lap, a ball of nerves. Sanejima comforted him by rubbing his back in soothing motions. Foyfoy was the first one to notice they'd returned.

"Oh, there you guys are." At this statement, the tension shattered and everyone snapped out of their trances, looking up to greet them with halfhearted smiles and waves.

"Feeling better, sleepy-head?" Ares asked Teuffel, and he nodded.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Did you guys go in to see Alba-san yet?" Rchi asked them.

Hime shook her head. "The doctors got to him before we could. Besides, we wanted to wait until you got back."

Teuffel looked over at her, panicked. "D-doctors? Is he okay? What happened?"

"They're just checking up on him," Sanejima assured him, his voice a low rumble.

Janua looked over to the door. "Ah, speak of the devil."

The door opened, revealing an older doctor with graying hair. He perked up at the sight of them. "Oh, hello! Were you waiting to see Fruhling-san?"

"Yes," they all responded. He laughed at their enthusiasm.

"Alright then, go on in. We were just giving him his medicine."

They all waited until the doctor was gone before they all barged into the room, almost falling on top of each other. Of course, this scared poor Alba to death, who jumped back and shrieked in surprise.

"Oh, geez!" He sighed, placing a hand over his heart. "You guys nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, Alba-san," Rchi giggled, straightening out her school uniform.

"Are you alright, kid?" Ares asked.

Alba blinked at her. Then, he gave her a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. A little sore, but fine."

The entire gang let out sighs of relief at this, making Alba laugh.

"What, you were that worried about me?" He giggled.

"Of course, Alba-kun! We're your friends, after all!" Janua stated, crossing his arms.

"As soon as we heard what happened, we rushed over," Hime added.

"A man doesn't need an excuse to attend to someone in need," Sanejima declared, puffing out his chest.

"We're always gonna have your back, Alba." Foyfoy grinned.

Alba stared at them for a long time. Then, his eyes started to water. He beamed at them, tears starting to trickle down his cheeks.

"Oh...e-everyone...th-thank you so much," he whimpered before he started sobbing.

Teuffel was at his side quickly, stroking his back. "Alba?"

Alba sniffed and wiped at his face. "O-oh, I'm fine. Th-thank you. I'm just really ha-happy." He looked up at Teuffel and smiled. "You called them here, didn't you, Ros?"

Hime frowned at him. "Ros?"

Ares elbowed her in the side. "Yes, that's _Ros, remember_? Have you forgotten him already, _Hime-chan_?"

"O-oh, right!" The blonde laughed awkwardly. "Ros-san, of course!"

Teuffel breathed out a sigh. _Good thing Ares caught on before it got worse._

Alba tugged on his sleeve. "Ros?"

"A-ah," he started. "Uh, yes, I did call them. But I didn't think any of them would show up to see a pathetic Hero." How he managed to pull that off he didn't even know.

"What?! You meanie!" Alba whined, lightly punched his arm.

"You want to go there, Hero?"

"Wh—no! No, I don't!"

"You're strange."

" _Heeeeey!_ "

The rest of the group watched on, unsure if they should be amused or worried. Alba seemed perfectly normal, yes, but he still couldn't tell that Teuffel wasn't Ros at all.

Rchi bit her lip. _Will Alba-san ever go back to normal? And even if he tries to, will he be able to accept that he's been lying to himself all this time?_

_What if something even worse happens when he finds out that Teuffel-san isn't Ros-san...?_


	11. Faker

After that, things seemed to return to normal, for the most part. When Alba arrived home from the hospital, his mother burst into tears and wouldn't let him go for ten minutes. Teuffel simply watched on in amusement as the boy struggled to escape from her grasp.

Then came the awkward introduction part.

Alba bid them goodnight and went up to his room to sleep. Teuffel remained in the doorway, eyes downcast.

Alba's mother turned to him with a smile. "So you're the boy I've heard so much about," she said. "Thank you for taking such good care of my Alba."

Teuffel winced. "Ah, yes...about that...I'm, uh...I'm not Ros." He looked into her eyes seriously. "My name is Teuffel."

Alba's mother stared at him. "Huh?"

He then proceeded to sit her down and explain everything. He tried to leave out all the gory details for her sake. Still, when he told her that Alba had developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and couldn't tell the difference between himself and Ros, it still broke her heart anyway.

"I don't know how long it'll take for him to go back to normal," he told her quietly. "I don't know if he ever will. But, for now, I'll play along until it's time to tell him the truth."

Alba's mother didn't reply, instead, she let out a quiet sob, dabbing at her face with a handkerchief.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to him, Mrs. Fruhling," he whispered. He clenched his hands together. "If only I'd...just been brave enough to go in there before anything bad happened..." Tears began to slide down his cheeks. "I-I'm such a coward. This is my fault. I'm so s-sorry..."

"Oh, no, sweetheart," the older woman shook her head, holding his hands in hers. "Don't blame yourself. If it wasn't for you, Alba would probably still be in there. You saved him. I can't thank you enough."

"M-Mrs. Fruhling..." Teuffel mumbled, wiping his eyes.

She let out a deep sigh. "I wish there was more I could do for him. He's...he's changed so much. He used to be such a happy child before his father left."

Teuffel sniffed and blinked at her. "Huh? What do you mean...?"

Mrs. Fruhling looked away, appearing melancholic. "His father left ten years ago to travel the world. He sends postcards sometimes, but..." She exhaled softly. "Alba just wasn't the same without his father around. He was his entire world. He'd always tell Alba stories about adventures and they'd go into the backyard to play hero all the time. To Alba, Midnight was his role model...but after he left, the light in Alba's eyes vanished. He got over it eventually, but he was never the same again."

Teuffel couldn't believe what he was hearing. So the Alba he knew now wasn't always like that? He'd never known this side of Alba before. It was hard to believe that the brunette wasn't always the cheerful and happy teen he knew today.

"He was very quiet and reserved all throughout elementary school and junior high. He had very low self-esteem. He'd get bullied a lot by the other children in his class. I didn't know what to do with him. He'd always be happy whenever his father sent a postcard, but after that he'd go back to the way he was before." She rested her head in the palm of her hand, reminiscing.

Teuffel fought the urge to cry again. He never knew how tough life actually was for Alba.

"It was very hard for him, growing up without a father. I thought things would continue to be that way, but then...he went into highschool."

She smiled. "And from there, things changed drastically."

_Mrs. Fruhling looked up in surprise when her son came crashing through the door, looking positively pissed._

_She raised an eyebrow as he passed her and threw his stuff onto the table, fuming._

_"Alba, dear? Is everything alright?" She asked, concerned._

_"No! No, it's not!" Alba responded, grinding his teeth._

_"What happened? Was your first day of school that bad?" She questioned, watching as he crossed his arms and pouted._

_"No, it was fine. But that damn Ros, he...!"_

_"Alba! Language!"_

_He blinked at her apologetically. "Sorry, Mom."_

_She sighed and leaned against the counter. "So what happened?"_

_Alba stuck out his lower lip and stared at the ground. "There's this guy named Ros, see? And he makes me so mad! He teases me all the time and he punches me for fun!"_

_Mrs. Fruhling gasped. "Oh, my."_

_Alba relaxed after this. "I met some really nice people, though. There's this girl named Rchi and she has pink hair. But unlike Ros, she's actually nice to me." His frown reappeared. "And you know the worst part? We live really close, so he walked home with me! And he made fun of me the entire time! It got me so mad!"_

_Mrs. Fruhling titled her head to the side, pondering. "Well, sweetie, it seems to me that this boy likes you."_

_Immediately, Alba's cheeks flushed. "W-_ what _?!"_

_"Well he teases you and punches you, right? And that must mean he likes you quite a lot." She regarded him carefully. "And judging from your reaction, you must like him too. I mean, dear, you've never acted this way towards anyone who's made fun of you before. And you're not crying, so I'm guessing he didn't beat you to a pulp like the other bullies usually do, right?"_

_"M-Mom!" Alba yelped, clearly embarrassed._

_"Am I right?" She continued, smiling._

_"N-no! That's_ so _not true!" Alba answered, blushing fiercely. "Wh-whatever! I'm just...gonna go do my homework!" And with that, he stomped away._

_Mrs. Fruhling watched him go, giggling. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's acting like a teenage girl."_

"Things started to change after that," Mrs. Fruhling said. "Alba made friends, for the first time in a long time. I don't know what that Ros boy did, but thanks to him, Alba started regaining some of his confidence, and the light in his eyes came back. I'd never seen him so happy."

Teuffel wrung his hands in his lap, refusing to meet her gaze.

He knew it. He knew it all along. But to have it confirmed? Well, it hurt like hell, it did.

He'd always disliked Ros. Maybe because he was jealous of him. Maybe because he annoyed him. Or maybe because Ros was the reason behind Alba's happiness, and that's what Teuffel wanted to be.

To hear that Ros was the one who made Alba smile and laugh and be who he was now really stung. It wasn't fair. It wasn't. Because now he knew the truth.

He could never be Ros. He could never replace him, ever. Ros had a permanent place inside Alba's heart, and Teuffel couldn't take that place. He thought he could, once. But now he knew it was impossible.

Because Ros was Alba's reason to be happy. Ros brought back all of the joy that Alba had been missing, craving, for so long. And Teuffel couldn't do that. Only Ros could.

"Of course, that happiness didn't last for very long, because Ros moved away...huh? Teuffel, dear, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Teuffel staggered to his feet. He couldn't be here. Not right now.

"I-I'm sorry, Mrs. Fruhling...I can't stay. I have to leave..." He mumbled, making his way over to the front door.

"Oh, I see...are you sure you're alright, dear?"

Teuffel was feeling lightheaded. Sleep. He needed to sleep. He was so tired...

Maybe he'd wake up tomorrow and find out it was all a nightmare.

"I...I'm fine. I need to go..." He opened the door and stepped outside, welcoming the cool air.

"Oh, alright...please stop by again soon, okay?"

He nodded. "Y...yes. Tell Alba I'll see him tomorrow..."

"Of course. Have a good night. And thank you for everything," she said sincerely.

Home. He needed to get home... "U-uh...yeah, sure...'bye."

And he ran off into the night.

* * *

As soon as Teuffel got home, he went straight to bed. And maybe, _maybe_ he cried himself to sleep—he couldn't be sure, though, since when he woke up the next day, the night before was all a blur in his mind. His narcolepsy tended to fuzz out his memories sometimes, especially in cases where he was extremely tired.

Teuffel arrived at Alba's door the next morning, seeing as it was a Saturday and the brunette would most likely search the entire town for him if he didn't visit right away. He fidgeted with nervousness, though he couldn't be sure as to why. He'd already gotten the hang of pretending to act like Ros, so what was his problem? Maybe the whole idea of him doing it still unnerved him.

It made sense, actually.

The door swung open, revealing Alba's sweet mother, hair tied back into a ponytail, eyes bright with a mixture of liveliness and worry.

"Oh, Teuffel! Good morning," she greeted, smiling at him. "Come on in. Alba's been ranting about you from the moment he woke up."

"Yeah, but not about _me_ ," Teuffel muttered as he stepped inside.

"What was that?"

"O-oh, it's nothing."

She sat him down on the couch before wandering off into the kitchen, saying that Alba would be down in just a moment. And this statement proved to be true when she called up the the teen with a, "Alba, honey? Teu... _Ros_ is here!"

Teuffel inwardly grimaced at her slip-up, hoping Alba wouldn't notice. All was forgotten when said boy came racing down the stairs, half-dressed and hair a complete mess.

Teuffel barely had time to respond before the teen had tackled him, squeezing his midsection so tightly that it made his breath whoosh out of his lungs.

" _Ros!_ " Alba cried joyfully, grinning like the sun.

"H-Hero," Teuffel choked, tugging weakly on his arm, "get off...can't breathe..."

Alba immediately jumped back with something that sounded like a squeal. "O-oh! Sorry, sorry!"

Teuffel took a moment to catch his breath, and then his cheeks turned an abrupt shade of pink. Alba looked...adorable. His face was flushed with embarrassment, hazel eyes wide as the sky, bed head prominent by the several bangs that flopped onto his forehead, opposed to their normal slicked back style. He was dressed in a casual t-shirt and his pajama pants. Apparently, in his excitement to see "Ros", he'd forgotten he was still wearing them. Teuffel could practically feel his heart exploding from the cuteness. He couldn't stand it!

"I, um," Alba started, giggling. "I didn't think you'd be here so early..."

Teuffel blinked at him, mouth gaping.

...Oh, right. He wanted a response, didn't he?

"Well, I...didn't want to hear you complain if I was late, Hero."

Alba stuck out his lower lip teasingly at him, an amused glint in his eye. Then, the look faded away to be replaced by a somewhat concerned expression.

Teuffel gasped in surprise when he found himself in Alba's embrace again. Tingles shot up his spine as the brunette held him close, closer than he'd ever held him before.

"S-sorry," Alba whispered into his shoulder, "I, uh...I was just kinda afraid that, when I woke up, the entire thing would be just a dream and you wouldn't be here."

_I almost wish it was a dream,_ Teuffel thought with a sigh before he awkwardly patted the boy's head. "I told you I'm not leaving."

He heard Alba chuckle against him. "You're being shockingly honest."

Teuffel flushed a bit. "Yeah, well..." _Not really._

Alba finally pulled away, and Teuffel was torn between feeling relieved and disappointed. The boy shot him a nervous, shy smile.

"So, uh...wanna go do something?" He asked curiously.

Teuffel blinked. "Like what?"

"I-I don't know! You decide," Alba huffed, crossing his arms.

"Like, you mean...go out and see a movie...or something?" Teuffel wondered.

Alba paused, mulling this over, before he nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I mean, if you want to."

Teuffel flushed a bit. Was Alba asking him on a...date? A date with Alba? Taking Alba on a date?

It was strange. It was something he'd dreamed of doing for the longest time, yet now that he was at that point he wasn't so sure. It probably related back to the fact that he'd be going out with the brunette not as himself, but as the person he pretended to be. The person he didn't really _want_ to be.

With a little shrug, he nodded. "Okay, sure." But of he course he agreed to it anyway, and then proceeded to mentally beat himself up over it afterward.

"G-great! I'll go get dressed!" Alba told him before rushing back upstairs in a flash.

He was done in minutes, returning downstairs with hair brushed back, clothes tidy, and covered in those awful bandages. Yet, he still managed to look so cute in Teuffel's eyes.

"Mom? Ros and I are gonna go see a movie!" Alba called into the kitchen.

"Okay, dear! Have fun and be safe! Look out for him, Ros!" She called back to the pair.

Alba turned to Teuffel, looking strangely content in contrast to recent events. "Ready?"

Teuffel nodded. "Yup. Let's go."

* * *

After their movie (which was quite uneventful), Teuffel returned Alba home before going home himself, hoping that maybe Alba would snap out of the weird trance he seemed to be trapped in. Of course, his hopes were shattered the next day when the brunette cheerfully greeted him as Ros once more.

The next few weeks continued on in this manner. Alba's mental state didn't seem to improve a bit, even when he returned to school. Teuffel was sure to inform his teachers and other classmates of the teen's fragile condition. They found it uncomfortable to call him by a name that wasn't his own, but they got used to it after a while. Soon Teuffel's own friends started calling him Ros out of habit, even when Alba wasn't around.

Teuffel didn't know what to do. He was losing his sense of self, who he truly was. He was being molded into Ros' image—his name, his looks, his personality, his _everything_. Teuffel didn't even know who Teuffel was anymore.

Who was he? Was he Ros, the handsome and heroic heart throb of every girl (and Alba) in school? Or was he Teuffel, shy and sensitive narcoleptic boy with brilliant powers of perception? He couldn't be sure. He couldn't be sure of anything anymore.

Eventually he started to get fed up with it. He didn't want this identity, this fake act that he despised putting on. He regretted getting himself into this situation in the first place. He wanted to tell Alba the truth and get it overwith. But yet again, the fears came creeping in, reminding him of just how unstable Alba could be—what if he told the boy and Alba snapped? Lost his marbles? Ros meant the world to him, and if he found out his "Ros" wasn't really his "Ros" at all, how would he react? Teuffel didn't want to destroy the boy from inside out because of this. But he couldn't keep it up for much longer before he snapped himself. He was so torn up inside about the whole thing, it was driving him insane.

He was still pondering on what to do when his own mother started calling him Ros, for he'd told her everything about what happened and would tell her the day's events when getting home from school. And this was his breaking point.

If he'd managed to trick his own mother into believing he was someone he wasn't, then that spoke volumes about what he needed to do.

He couldn't take it anymore. He had to tell Alba. It was going to be painful, and Alba wasn't going to like accepting the truth, but Teuffel just couldn't pretend anymore.

It was time to stop being a faker.


	12. Not Exactly As Planned

Teuffel inhaled deeply through his lungs and back out again. He was currently pacing outside in the schoolyard, thoughts running a mile a minute.

It was gym class right now, and he'd been permanently excused from attending due to his narcolepsy. The teachers usually allowed him to go to the library to study (or in his case, sleep) during this time, but today was different. Because right here, right now, he was coming up with a plan.

He wasn't sure whether to break the news to Alba gently or outright. Maybe being gentle would work better, since Ros wasn't exactly a gentle person...at least, on the outside. So if Teuffel was cautious about the entire thing, Alba would notice something was off about him and maybe realize he wasn't Ros after all.

Heart thundering in his ears, Teuffel continued to walk back and forth, gnawing down on his lip nervously. He really hoped this wouldn't backfire. Though, knowing his tendency to end up in trouble all the time, it probably would.

But he'd already made his resolve. There was absolutely no going back now. His mind was set; he was going to tell Alba everything.

He stopped in his frantic motions and let out another heavy sigh.

_It'll be good to go back to being me again,_ he thought, gazing up at the clear blue sky. _I can't wait to have my sense of self back._

He jumped slightly when a loud ring echoed across the school grounds, signaling the end of class and the start of lunch. Alba would most likely be changing back into his regular clothes by now. Teuffel knew that this would probably be his only chance to confess before he lost his nerve again.

The wind suddenly picked up and blew his hair away from his eyes. It really was a beautiful day. It was almost like the world was encouraging him, telling him everything would be just fine.

_Alright,_ he thought, steeling himself, _here goes._

He headed off in the direction of the locker rooms. Those who knew him greeted him with casual smiles and hellos, but Teuffel paid them no mind. He was on a mission.

When he turned the last corner, he was met with the sight of Alba buttoning up his shirt. Teuffel paused and stared at him, blinking rapidly.

_Oh...my...he's so..._

He caught himself staring and shook his head back and forth wildly. _No, no, no!_ Focus _, Teuffel!_

"A-Alba," he cleared his throat and stepped forward as Alba finished putting on his sweater vest.

The teen promptly lit up at "Ros'" appearance. He hurriedly grabbed his bag and trotted over to meet him.

"Ros!" He exclaimed, beaming. "What's up? Did you want to eat lunch together?"

Teuffel paled slightly. "A-ah, no, not...listen. I really need to talk to you."

Alba noticed his seriousness and frowned. "Why? What's wrong?"

The taller teen glanced around nervously. "Uh, not here. Come with me," he said, taking a hold of Alba's hand and dragging him out of the locker rooms.

* * *

Once they'd arrived at a more secluded area within the school, Teuffel finally stopped. Alba almost bumped right into him.

"Hey, Ros? What's up? You're acting weird..." He said, peering into Teuffel's swirly eyes. They held each other's gaze for an awkward amount of time before the brunette promptly flushed and murmured, "You've, uh...never held my hand before."

At this statement, Teuffel squeaked and jumped back, hands held out in front of him defensively. Why hadn't he noticed that he hadn't let go of Alba's hand yet?!

"Ros...you're starting to scare me," Alba told him quietly. "What's the matter? Unless it's..." His eyes widened and seemed to gain a panicked gleam. "You...you're not leaving, are you? You're not going anywhere, right...?"

Teuffel swallowed and cut him off before he had an honest panic attack, "No, that's not it. It's just..." He suddenly froze, completely rigid.

Alba took a step towards him. "Ros...?"

"N...no," Teuffel gasped, starting to sway. The corners of his vision were beginning to fade. "This...can't...why n-now...?"

"Ros?" Alba leaped forward and grabbed his arm as his entire body began to totter back and forth.

"N-no...dammit...why..." And with that, he passed out.

"Ros? Ros?! _Ros!_ "

* * *

"...re gonna be alright, Ros..."

Fuzzy voices seemed to pass in and out of his half-conscious mind, further lulling him into a state of confusion. What happened? Where was he? Why...?

Teuffel's eyes fluttered open to meet the blank white ceiling of the nurse's office. Dizzily, he lifted up a hand to his face, frowning when it seemed to waver in and out due to his blurry vision. Ah. He passed out again, hadn't he? Dammit! And he'd really been watching himself this time...

When he thought about how the plan to tell Alba his identity would possibly backfire, he didn't think it would happen like this! A groan of annoyance escaped his lips, but any further complaints were cut off when he felt something warm grasp onto his hand.

"Ros?! Ros!"

Teuffel glanced over and spotted a very concerned Alba sitting at his bedside, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Oh, thank goodness! I was...I was so worried about you...!" He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. Teuffel couldn't help but soften up a bit at his obvious distress.

"I'm okay, Alba," he told him quietly. "Really. I'm alright. I'm used to it."

The brunette wiped his tears and frowned at him. "Huh? What are you talking about? Has this happened to you before?"

Teuffel winced. Ah, right. The kid still thought he was Ros. Ros didn't pass out due to narcolepsy. He was a normal human being. Teuffel...wasn't.

...Not really, anyway.

"Excuse me," a nurse popped her head in. She smiled at Alba sweetly. "Sorry, Fruhling-kun, but I need to speak with my patient alone."

Alba nodded and stood up quickly. "Oh, of course! I'll, um, I'll come back in twenty minutes, if that's okay?"

The nurse nodded. "That's perfectly fine!"

"Right!" Alba passed her on the way out, but not before turning to Teuffel and saying, "I'll bring you some lunch, okay, Ros? So please don't be stubborn and just listen to what the nurse has to say."

"Y-yeah...sure," Teuffel mumbled as Alba left the room.

He let out an enormous sigh, one that relaxed his tense muscles and let his crazy thoughts calm down a bit.

The nurse looked him over. "Stressed?"

Teuffel massaged his temples and sighed again. "You could say that."

"...Is this about Fruhling-kun?" She asked while checking his pulse.

Teuffel grimaced, but he nodded anyway.

"I've heard about his condition," she continued softly. "You're very brave for helping him out like this, Diabolos-kun."

"It's not being brave," he shot back, grinding his teeth. "It's being selfish. I should've told him straight away that I wasn't Ros, but I..." He covered his face with his hands. "I wanted...I wanted to know what it felt like to be with him like that. To be..." He trailed off with a pathetic whimper.

The nurse shook her head slowly. "You're right. It is selfishness. But it is courage, too. You may think it's all about you, and how selfish you're being because of it, but you're wrong. Fruhling-kun has made a miraculous recovery, both physically and mentally. And that's only because you've been helping him like this."

"But I'm going to break him all over again!" Teuffel choked, sitting up to look her in the eyes. "I'm going to destroy him once I tell him that I'm not...I'm not..." He curled in on himself and let out a quiet sob.

He hated himself. He was pathetic. A good-for-nothing. He couldn't believe that he'd let this go on for so long. Why, _why_ hadn't he just worked up the courage to tell Alba right off the bat? It would've hurt, yes, but not as much as it was hurting now. Because now it was so far along that it was hurting both Alba and himself.

He truly was living up to his name, wasn't he? Teuffel Diabolos. The devil. The person with the darkest heart of them all; darker than Elf's, even. His soul was corrupted, his emotional state utterly turned on it's head. He honestly didn't know what to do anymore. He couldn't take much more of it before he...!

Teuffel let out an audible yelp when the nurse gently pinched his arm.

He stared up at her through his eyelashes, glaring slightly.

She gave him an innocent smile. "Just testing your reflexes."

Teuffel puffed out a breath of air and slumped. He really wasn't cut out for this, not at all. Why couldn't it have been Foyfoy who Alba mistook for Ros?

It wasn't that he regretted saving Alba from Elf. He was thankful beyond words that he'd managed to find the teen in time before it got worse. He just wished that things hadn't turned out this way. Even if he admitted his feelings to the brunette, the pain of rejection still wouldn't compare to what he was feeling right now.

Utter hopelessness. Huh. This was the first time he'd really felt such an emotion. It wasn't exactly fun, either.

"Diabolos-kun," the nurse hummed softly.

"Yes?" He responded tiredly. Couldn't the day just be overwith already?

"Why did you suddenly pass out? I know about your narcolepsy, but seeing as this hasn't happened to you in quite a while..." She gave him a questioning look. "Is it because of Fruhling-kun?"

Teuffel looked away, not wanting to meet her eyes this time. "I guess...maybe. I don't know."

She continued poking and prodding him, but he didn't mind it. It was something he was accustomed to, something that happened so often that he stopped noticing. "Did you do anything different today?"

Teuffel blinked at her. "Like what?"

"Like what you ate for breakfast, for instance. Or maybe you forgot to take your pills and supplements. Did you perhaps take a different route to school that was longer? Did you do some kind of physical activity that made you run out of breath? Anything like that?"

Teuffel mulled over her questions for a moment, and then he shook his head. "No...I did everything the same as usual. Nothing about today was different, except..."

"Fruhling-kun," the nurse finished for him. "That must have been what triggered it. You're so stressed about talking to him that it's affecting your body negatively." She stood up and handed him a bottle of water that was sitting nearby, still ice cold.

"I'm not going to lecture you about watching yourself. I already know that you're perfectly capable of handling your condition. However, please keep in mind that if you keep getting upset like this, your body isn't going to like it."

Teuffel closed his eyes. He was so tired...he wanted everything to be over, so he could just go to sleep and never wake up. Sleep...sleep sounded really nice...

"Diabolos-kun?"

Teuffel jumped, eyes flying open again. His cheeks flushed a light shade of pink for almost falling asleep in the middle of an important conversation. Not that this was the first time it happened, but...

"I can see you're pretty sleepy," the nurse laughed. "You know, I've noticed something. When you used to come in here before, you were always so tense and nervous around me. Not only did you have problems with your narcolepsy, but you had problems with talking to other people, too! It was borderline people anxiety. But now...you seem much more confident about yourself. You probably haven't realized it yet, but while you've been curing Fruhling-kun, he's been curing you. And you've been curing yourself."

Teuffel gaped at her in complete shock.

He hated to admit it, but she was right. He'd always been extremely timid around other people, mainly because he'd been bullied a lot as a kid due to his illness. He retreated into himself, afraid to talk to other people because he feared they'd figure out about his narcolepsy and bully him like all the others did. He developed a slight stutter and had a difficult time looking anybody in the eye. It didn't get much better as he went into highschool, but then Ares dragged him out of his shell and thrust him out into the world. His stutter went away after a while, but he still preferred to be by himself.

And then...that's when Alba came in.

The boy was absolutely stunning. He was just like Teuffel, he realized, remembering the conversation with Alba's mom from not too long ago. Alba had been bullied a lot, too. And Teuffel noticed that Alba seemed to be bullied all the time by that one teenager named Ros.

But instead of cowering or running away like Teuffel would've done in his situation, Alba stood up for himself. He defied Ros' insults and defended his pride with no fear whatsoever. And that's when Teuffel really began to admire him.

Once their group of friends had been formed—himself, Alba, Ros, Rchi, Ares, Hime, Foyfoy, Janua and Sanejima—that's when Teuffel really started to open up. He spoke more often and wasn't as afraid to talk to other people anymore. These people, his friends...they were curing him. And Alba, he...

Without even meaning to, Alba gave him a strong sense of bravery and courage. When he was trapped inside Elf's apartment building, that's when Teuffel knew he'd have to step up to the plate and face his fears head on. The boy really _had_ changed him. That was probably one of the many reasons why he was so deeply in love with him, he supposed.

_I guess...there's a good side and a bad side to everything,_ he realized, taking a sip out of his water bottle. _Even in this situation._

"Yo, Teuf! You'd better not be dying in here!" All coherent thought was interrupted when Ares burst through the door, blue hair as messy and wild as always.

"Well, hello, Strahl-san," the nurse giggled.

"You still half-asleep, Teuffel?" The girl questioned as she plopped down onto his bed. He let out a squawk when she landed on his legs.

"N-no," was his wheezy response.

"Strahl-san, I leave him to you," the nurse said with a bright smile. "I have other things I need to attend to. But if anything comes up, call me, alright?"

Ares gave her a winning grin. "You got it!"

As the nurse disappeared from the room, leaving the two only with each other's company, there was hardly any time to enjoy the silence left behind before Ares leaned back on her hands and let out a breathy, " _Soooooo._ "

Teuffel watched her warily. "So?"

"Whatsa matter with you? It's been a while since you've had an attack," she said, suddenly serious. "When I heard that you'd done a face plant into the dirt, I got super worried."

Teuffel hid a smile at this. Even though she was acting casual and nonchalant about it all, he was glad she really cared.

"It's nothing, A. I'm fine, really." He told her softly. She stuck out her lower lip in a pout.

"Liar, liar," she sang. "You can't hide it from me. It's because of Alba, isn't it?" When Teuffel flinched, she knew she'd hit the nail right on the head.

"Look, Teuf," she began, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know that I don't really have a say in what you end up doing, but I'm still gonna give you my advice."

Teuffel stared at her for a moment before shrugging. "Uh...okay."

She gave him a smile before she began slowly, softly, "I can't really understand what you're going through right now. I mean, this is some pretty crazy shit we're dealing with here. But even so, I know how you must feel about telling Alba the truth. It's not gonna be easy. But you need to do it, for his sake and yours."

Teuffel looked down, shame making his cheeks burn.

"If you keep going on like this, everything's just gonna get worse and worse, you know. If you don't grow some balls and tell him what the hell is going on, I'll seriously _make_ you do it." She declared.

"I...I know. But...i-it's hard." Teuffel murmured, shoulders slumping. "I-I...I'm...I'm scared, Ares. I'm scared how he'll react. What if he breaks even more because of me? What if he doesn't believe me? What if he tries t-to..." He didn't get to finish this thought before Ares slapped his shoulder, jolting him.

"Yo can't think like that, Teuf. Come on. You know Alba. He's not exactly hero material, but he always bounces back. He's just a little shaken up right now...but give him some time, and he'll get over it. Besides, you have to stop thinking that you're facing this alone. Alba has a lot of friends who care about him, ya know? And all of those people care about you, too. No matter what, we're gonna support him, and we're gonna support you." She stared deep into his eyes, and for a moment, he found himself lost in their endless deep-sea depths. Ares' eyes were really pretty, he noticed. "It's gonna be okay, Teuffel. Trust me."

Teuffel stared at her for a long moment, and then he nodded. She was right. Ares was always right, wasn't she? He needed to stop getting so riled up over something so simple. He was going to talk to Alba and confess everything, and that was that. He had to face the music. And if everything came crashing down...

Ares would be right there beside him to pick him back up.

"...Thank you, Ares." He told her sincerely, wiping at his wet eyes. He watched in amazement as the blue-haired teen turned away with a scoff, pink dusting her cheeks. Ares was _blushing_? Since when did she ever blush?

"Y-yeah, well, if I don't look out for you, I don't know who will." She mumbled, eyes darting about the room.

"Really, though," the spiral-eyed boy continued, reaching out to gently take her hand in his. "Thank you, Ares...for everything. It's because of you that I—" He was cut off when she punched his arm. Hard.

He reeled back, hissing through his teeth. "What was that for?!"

Ares' face was brighter than a cherry. It was kind of endearing. "Just—cut that out! God! I hate all this sentimental talk, it's too mushy for me to deal with. Hell, this entire conversation was really hard to get through."

Teuffel glanced at her, amused. "But you _did_ get through it."

She gave him a sidelong glance. "Only for you, Teuf. Only for you."

Teuffel chuckled a bit to himself before he regained his serious composure. "Alba should be back any time now..."

Ares nodded and stood up. Teuffel felt strangely cold without her there. "I guess that's my cue to leave."

Teuffel took a deep breath. Trembles seemed to shoot down his arms. Ares gave him a reassuring glance, and he relaxed. It was going to be alright. He just needed to keep telling himself that...

If he couldn't do it for his sake, he was definitely going to do it for Alba's. And Ares'.

"Good luck, Teuf. Remember all the things I told you." Those were Ares' last words before she left the room.

Teuffel felt empty, alone, scared, and extremely frightened of what was to come. But he certainly felt much more emotionally prepared than he had ten minutes prior.

_Okay._

_Let's do this._


	13. The Truth Is Out

Teuffel's hands constantly fidgeted with the soft blanket on the bed as he fought off a wave of nausea. This was it. This was the moment that would change everything. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he waited in silence for Alba to return from lunch. This could go in two directions; one: Alba would realize his mistake and accept it right off the bat, or two: Alba would think he was joking and completely break down once he was convinced of the truth. If Teuffel _could_ convince him of the truth, that is. Option two was more likely to happen, knowing his luck.

He raised his head when he heard footsteps sound from down the hall. The nurse's office was in a somewhat secluded part of the school, so not that many students walked by unless they were there for a reason. Cheerful humming echoed near the doorway and he knew immediately that it was Alba.

Right on cue, the door opened and in stepped his destiny, holding a sandwich in one hand and an energy drink in the other, happy with the world and completely oblivious to what awaited him in only a few minutes.

Upon seeing him sitting rigid on the bed, Alba smiled brightly. Teuffel almost started crying when he realized he was going to be the cause of the light vanishing from Alba's eyes. His sun was going to fizzle out...

"Ros! I brought you food!" Alba peered around curiously. "Did the nurse leave?"

Teuffel swallowed and fought to keep his breathing under control. The world seemed to swim in front of his eyes. _Get yourself together, Diabolos,_ he chided himself inwardly before he took a deep breath. He wasn't going to lose. Not to his narcolepsy, not to Ros, not to Alba, not to _anyone_!

"Alba."

Alba froze at his tone of voice. He sounded strangely serious. This almost reminded him of the last time he'd seen Ros serious, and that was right before...

Teuffel's lunch slipped from Alba's fingers and fell to the floor. The energy drink rolled out of sight.

"N-n-no," Alba gasped out, shaking. "Y-you're not...are you?"

Teuffel shook his head back and forth. He stared deep into Alba's eyes and, after steeling himself, gestured the brunette over. "Come on. I need to tell you something."

Alba visibly relaxed. "Oh. Is this what you were trying to tell me earlier?"

The black-haired teen nodded.

"Okay," Alba smiled and walked over, Teuffel's lunch forgotten. "What is it?"

Teuffel bit the inside of his cheek and looked away. "There's something...I haven't told you. About me."

Alba tilted his head to the side cutely. "What?"

Teuffel exhaled loudly. "Do you remember the night when... _that_ happened, and I found you?" He worded carefully, not wanting to remind Alba too much of what happened. Everyone tended to avoid the subject as much as possible when he was around.

Alba made a face, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Yes, well," Teuffel's breath caught, and he forced himself to keep talking through it. His voice came out thick and wavering. "W-when I found you...you were very unstable. You lost a lot of blood and you didn't really know what was going on so I think you started hallucinating and—" He drew in a shuddering breath. "You...made a mistake, Alba. I—I didn't want to tell you right away because I was unsure of how you'd react but now you're better, so..."

Alba's eyes widened, and he looked as nervous as Teuffel felt. "What...?"

_Come on, spit it out!_ He could almost hear Ares egging him on.

"I'm...not Ros."

Alba blinked. "Huh?"

"You thought I was Ros," Teuffel mumbled. "Look, you—you were really traumatized by that event and you really wanted to see Ros again so when I came in to save you, you...your body reacted automatically and your brain got me confused with Ros. You developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and your mentality was all jumbled so—" Teuffel was cut off by the sound of laughing.

Laughing. Alba was _laughing_!

Teuffel's stomach plummeted. _Oh, no..._

He knew this was going to happen!

" _Ahaha!"_ Alba grabbed his sides and chuckled. "Aw, man! That's a good one, Ros!"

Teuffel grit his teeth and barked out, "I—I'm not joking, Alba! I'm being serious!"

Alba abruptly paused and shot him a frown. "That's not nice, Ros. You shouldn't make fun of my feelings like that."

"But I'm _not_ ," Teuffel stated, on the edge of tears. Couldn't Alba just _see_? "I'd never do that to you, I swear. I'm telling the truth."

Alba stared at him for a moment, speechless. Then he started to back away, shaking his head back and forth.

"You...liar," he squeaked, lip trembling.

"Alba, I'm not—"

"You _liar_!" Alba shouted, hugging himself tightly. "How could you make fun of my feelings like this?! I'm fine with you playing jokes on me, but this time you've taken it too far! You _jerk_!"

Teuffel almost started hyperventilating. He had to get the situation under control, and fast—otherwise Alba would run away and refuse to speak to him again.

"Alba, _listen_ ," Teuffel growled. It was time to start being serious. "I'm not playing a joke on you. I'm telling you the truth. I promise."

Alba clapped his hands to his ears and shook his head faster.

"Look at me!" Teuffel snapped, sitting up straight. Alba rose to attention, eyes brimming with tears.

" _Look_ ," Teuffel hissed. "I'm paler than he is. My hair is spikier. I'm shorter than him. His eyes are red. Mine are black! See? I'm not Ros. I'm Teuffel."

"T...euffel?" Alba whispered.

"Yes! Don't you find it strange that Teuffel suddenly went missing? That he wasn't there at the hospital or in any of your classes during school? But I was. I was just pretending to be Ros to protect you. But you're okay now, so I decided to tell you the truth."

Alba started crying, tears sliding down his face one after the other. "No...that can't...that can't be t-true..."

"I'm not him! Can't you see?! I'm just me!" Teuffel wailed, hands balling up into fists.

"N-n-no..." Alba sobbed. "Th-then Ros...Ros is...all this time, he's been..."

Teuffel's face softened.

"...Yeah. He hasn't come back since he left. I'm...I'm sorry, Alba."

"He...he...n- _noooo_..." Alba slumped down to the floor, cradling his head in his hands.

Teuffel let out a yelp of surprise and, narcolepsy conditions be damned, got out of bed and hurried over to the teen, who was now curled up into a ball and crying his eyes out.

"Al...Alba, it's gonna be okay...I-I know that Ros left, but...he'll come back eventually," he soothed, rubbing circles into the boy's back.

"N-no, no, that's not it," Alba whimpered. "I-I-I'm _horrible_... _so_ horrible..."

"Huh...?"

"I c-can't believe...oh, I'm so _awful_!" Alba blubbered, rubbing at his face frantically. There seemed to be no end to his tears.

"Wh-what?! No, no, you're not awful," Teuffel fretted, unsure of what to do. This wasn't going as planned.

"N-no, I'm...I'm sorry! I'm _sooooorry_!" He bawled, flinging his arms around Teuffel without warning.

"H-hu—"

"I'm so sorry! So sorry...p-please forgive...oh, _Teuffel_!" Alba could hardly talk between hiccups.

Teuffel's eyes widened to the size of saucers. _Alba..._

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around the brunette and smiled gratefully, burying his nose into the teen's hair.

" _Finally_ ," he breathed, unable to stop the tears from running down his own face. "Finally, you can see me..."

Alba simply sniffed and nodded against him.

"I'm so glad," Teuffel laughed joyfully. "I'm so glad you're okay, Alba."

"Why...? Why did you do it? _Why?_ " Alba rasped, shaking in his hold.

"Because...I care about you. A lot. So I wanted to make sure you were happy," Teuffel admitted, blushing slightly. "Even if it meant I had to play pretend for a while."

"Sorry," Alba whimpered, "So sorry. Sorry...!"

Teuffel shook his head. "It's alright, Alba. All is forgiven."

"B-but...but I...I _hurt_ you," Alba pulled away from him. "I was hurting you and I didn't even...oh, god. What have I done...?"

"Hey, hey," Teuffel smiled, brushing away the boy's tears. Alba's cheeks turned pink at the raw affection he was showing. "It's fine. Really. It's all over and done now. You couldn't help it, it was what your brain wanted to see. But now you know. So it's okay."

Alba shook his head, looking away. "No...I can't...forgive myself for this..."

Teuffel frowned. He was really taking this hard.

"Well then, how about this? We can both forgive me."

Alba looked at him, alarmed. "Wh—of course! No, none of this is your fault, please don't blame yourself. This is entirely on me."

Teuffel sighed. Perhaps this wouldn't be as easy as he thought. "Alba..."

Alba stood up and wiped his eyes. "I guess we should...er, I'll get back to class. You stay here and rest."

Teuffel stood up more slowly. "Alba...you're okay, right?"

Alba gave him an unsure smile in return. "I'll be fine. I think. I just...need some time to think this over."

Teuffel laid a hand on his shoulder, expression one of concern. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Alba laughed, though it sounded a bit hollow. "I'll...get through this."

"Alba." Alba looked into his eyes. "I just want you to know...I'm always gonna be here for you and back you up. So if you ever need anything...or anyone," his cheeks turned pink, "you can come to me."

Alba let out a shaky sigh and smiled. "Yeah, I know. Thank you, Teuffel."

He gave a half-hearted wave and left the room, closing the door gently behind him.

Teuffel stood there motionless for a few moments, and then he fell backwards. The bed caught him, the springs creaking, and Teuffel found he couldn't stop smiling.

_I did it...! I finally did it!_ He cheered inwardly _. Now maybe things can finally go back to normal..._

He closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness, the stress of the day getting to him. As he faded away his thoughts were focused on Alba, and how grateful he was that the teen seemed to be doing better. Finally.

_...Right?_

* * *

On the other side of the door, a certain brunette had collapsed onto the tile below, holding his hands over his mouth to cover his quiet sobbing. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

_What have I done...?_


	14. Too Much To Bear

"...euf. Teuf...Teuf!"

Teuffel shot up like a bullet, eyes wide. "H-huh? What?"

Ares leaned over his desk, deep blue eyes shining with worry. "You okay? You kinda spaced out there for a while...did you forget to take your meds again? Don't go falling asleep on me, now," she teased lightly, though he could tell she wasn't putting all her heart into it.

He sighed and reached up to rub his temples. "I'm fine...thanks for your concern."

She puffed out a breath, annoyed. ""Fine" my ass. Ever since you told Alba the truth you've turned into a space case."

Teuffel glanced away and looked out the window, frowning. She knew he didn't like it when that topic was brought up, but what else was there to talk about, really? It was the sole subject of their conversations recently.

It had only been three days since Teuffel spilled the beans about the little game he'd been playing with Alba, and he hadn't seen the brunette since. The first day he decided to keep his worries to himself; he knew that it was a huge shock and he wanted to give Alba some time to get over it. He'd expected the boy would stay home for at least a day, but now three had passed and Teuffel found he couldn't wait any longer. He was planning to visit Alba after school to see what was up. He knew he was probably overreacting and getting all worked up for nothing, but Alba was his friend and a person he cared about very, very much. He had to make sure he was doing alright.

 _God, what an awful year. His best friend moves away without a word, he gets kidnapped and cut up by some psycho, and then he figures out that one of his friends has been lying to him,_ Teuffel thought sourly. _I don't blame him for staying home. I probably wouldn't want to come to school either..._

The black-haired teen started chewing the inside of his cheek. _I really hope he isn't angry...maybe he hasn't come to school because he's avoiding me? But...no, he said he didn't blame me...if I know Alba as well as I do, he's probably still blaming_ himself _for what happened..._

He sighed again. _That idiot_.

"Um, _hello_? Earth to Teuffel?" Ares waved a hand in front of his face and he jumped. She made an aggravated sound. "You should really pay attention to people when they talk to you, you know."

He shied away from her and fidgeted in his seat. "Sorry, A."

Ares stared at him for what seemed like forever, and then she sighed heavily. "Whatever. Just make sure you give Alba our regards, okay?"

He looked up at her, surprised. "Wait, how did you—"

"I've known you since middle school, you dolt," she snorted. "I can read you like an open book. I _know_ you're going to see him. It's written all over your face."

"Uh...right," he mumbled, slightly embarrassed. Was it that obvious?

The bell chimed loudly, and students rose out of their seats, chatting excitedly. They were all oblivious to the problems happening in Teuffel's world. He kind of envied them. It was funny how, not too long ago, he'd been just like them, happy and completely carefree.

To think so much could change in such a short time...

Teuffel gathered his things quickly and nearly bolted out the door, anxious to see how Alba was faring.

Ares watched him go, expression one of sorrow and pity.

"And you're constantly telling me _I_ have love problems," a voice mumbled from behind her.

"What was that, Hime-chan? You want me to tell Foyfoy about your crush on him? Well, if you say so," Ares responded cheerfully, not missing a beat.

"Wh— _no_! For the last time, I don't...I don't..." Hime trembled, her entire face flooding with color.

" _Noooooo!_ " She screamed, fist flying out as a reflex. A resounding crack was heard as she accidentally caught Janua in the crossfire.

The boy was sent flying backwards into a cluster of desks. He immediately started howling and holding his face.

"Nice," Ares complimented with a nod, completely ignoring Hime's earlier comment about Teuffel.

"O—oh my gosh! Janua-san, I am _so_ sorry!" Hime fretted, hurrying over to inspect the damage.

"What the hell just happened?" Ares glanced over to see Foyfoy, who had returned from his trip to the bathroom.

The blue-haired girl shrugged. "Beats me!"

* * *

Teuffel held his breath as he stood outside the door to Alba's house. He could've made it there sooner but he knew it was better to take things slow, considering that he'd passed out from stress a couple days before. His foot tapped impatiently on the doorstep as he waited for the door to open.

Right on cue, the door swung out, revealing Alba's sweet mother, who was tidy and simple-looking as always. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, blinking in surprise at her guest.

"Oh, my, Teuffel! How are you?" She asked.

"I'm fine, thanks." He peeked around her, looking for any signs of his object of affection. "Is...is Alba here?"

Alba's mom made a face. "Yes, but...I'm afraid he's in a rut. He's hardly gotten out of bed at all..."

Teuffel blinked. "Did...he tell you anything important?"

She nodded and gestured for him to come in. Teuffel stepped inside gratefully.

"He told me about you," she whispered, not wanting to disturb her son upstairs. "He's very upset about it...I don't know what to do with him. He won't eat, he won't get out of bed...this is almost worse than the time when Ros left."

Teuffel made a concerned noise. "He's really beating himself up over this..."

Her face softened. "Yes, well...still. Thank you, Teuffel."

He lifted his gaze to meet hers. "Huh? For what?"

She smiled sincerely. "For telling him the truth. I know it must've been very hard for you...but hopefully now that he knows things will start to get better." She chuckled quietly. "Well, if you can get him out of bed, that is."

He grinned at her. "I'll do my best, ma'am."

"Good."

* * *

"Alba?" Teuffel knocked at his door, shaking with nervousness. "Um...it's me. Teuffel..."

The only response he received was a small noise from behind the door.

Taking that as an invitation to come in, Teuffel slowly opened the door, blinking rapidly as darkness filled his vision. The curtains were drawn, blocking out any light from outside. Alba was curled up in a ball on his bed, body hidden by the covers, face peeking out. He was staring blankly at his phone, which wasn't even turned on. Teuffel noticed that the screen was cracked.

Teuffel tip-toed in and shut the door behind him. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, and when they did, he gently called out, "Alba...?"

The teen jumped a little, eyes darting about the room, and when they finally settled on Teuffel his expression morphed into one of pure guilt.

"Hey," Teuffel greeted awkwardly, quietly. "Um...how are you?"

 _Stupid Teuffel, stupid!_ He yelled at himself. _That is the worst possible question to ask him right now!_

Alba swallowed and shifted slightly, still deciding on whether or not to emerge from his cocoon of blankets. "...I'm...okay. I guess."

Teuffel could only stare as the boy's dull hazel eyes quickly averted from him. Even Alba's voice sounded broken and empty. The black-haired teen started fretting on the inside.

_Dammit. This is my fault, isn't it?_

_"_ You haven't shown up to school in a while...are you sure you're okay?" Teuffel asked gently, daring to step a little closer.

Alba flinched as he drew nearer, making him immediately stop in his tracks. He didn't want to spook the boy. Teuffel wanted him to open up, not shut him out.

A long moment passed where Teuffel did nothing but stand and stare, one foot still out slightly in front of the other mid-step, and Alba's gaze had returned to his broken phone, thinking deeply.

Suddenly Teuffel heard a quiet chuckle. Shocked, he watched as Alba giggled quietly. However, he didn't look happy about it at all. Instead, his face was contorted in pain, and his entire being radiated with self-loathing.

"Why are you here, Teuffel?" Alba asked him randomly, his giggles stopping as quickly as they'd come.

Teuffel wasn't sure what to make of his behavior, so he just answered honestly, "I...I was worried about you. I just...wanted to come see how you were doing."

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why," Alba mumbled, "why do you care about me so much? I don't understand."

"What are you—"

"I'm _pathetic_ ," Alba snarled, sitting up straight. The blankets fell from around his shoulders. His eyes glistened with tears. "You've noticed it, haven't you? Ever since Ros left I've been a complete mess. Funny how my life completely fell apart after that. All because I was stupid and let him get to me."

Teuffel's mouth gaped, and he found himself unable to respond.

"I'm so dumb," Alba sighed, tears sliding down his face. "I'm so, so stupid. You know why? Because I fell in love with that moron."

Teuffel could only watch as his most important person broke down in front of him.

"I-I thought...I was happy," he choked, rubbing his eyes, "I thought I could be happy, for once...I thought we'd be together forever. But dreams like that can't last, can they? I—I can't believe myself. I depended on him...I let myself fall for him, and now..."

"Alba..."

"I love him," Alba sobbed, "I love him and now h-h-he's..."

Teuffel exhaled quietly and shook his head from side to side. _This is a complete disaster. Now I've gone and made things worse._

 _"_ And then there's you," Alba continued, very quietly. "You tried to save me...and I dragged you into this mess. I'm sorry...Teuffel..."

"No—no, you can't blame yourself like this. It's not your fault. Alba, please," Teuffel begged.

"Ros was wrong about me," Alba breathed, eyes flickering to his phone. "I'm no hero. I'm just a pathetic excuse for nothing."

" _Stop that,_ " Teuffel snapped, eyes livid with rage. Alba looked up to him, surprised. "Stop saying those things. This isn't like you. You're not pathetic, Alba! You're just...going through some really hard times. Just because things are a little rough...doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up over it."

Alba gazed at him for a long while, completely silent. Then, he rose off the bed, the blankets pooling around his feet. Teuffel felt his entire body stiffen as the teen suddenly threw himself onto him, the force of his weight almost knocking them both over.

Alba's arms hung limply around his shoulders. Teuffel squeaked and tried not to have a breakdown as the shorter boy hugged him.

"Teuffel...you're a really great person," Alba murmured into his ear. Teuffel shuddered involuntarily. "I envy you. I envy you because you're so much stronger than me."

The raven opened his mouth to argue, but Alba beat him to it. "When I was in that state...you pretended to be Ros even though it hurt you. You were strong and you pulled through and you had the courage to tell me the truth."

Teuffel shook his head. _No, no. I'm not strong. I was on the verge of breaking every damn day...don't you see?_

 _"_ I'm a coward," Alba whispered. "I'm always running away. I...I tricked myself into believing you were Ros because I didn't want to accept it. I didn't want to believe he was gone...because I was running from the truth. I want to be strong...but I can't. I can't do this anymore..."

Teuffel froze. "What...what do you mean by that?"

Alba didn't answer him, of course. Silence hung in the air between them, thick and tense.

Teuffel jumped when Alba finally sighed into his ear, and then he pulled away. Teuffel blinked rapidly at him as he moved to go sit on his bed.

"Look, I'll...come to school tomorrow. I'm...I'm going to try to...to get over this."

Relief came to Teuffel so quickly that he almost staggered. "R-really?"

Alba breathed deeply and attempted a smile. "Yeah."

"That's—that's great," Teuffel squeaked, breaking out into a smile of his own. "Good. I'm...I'm glad."

"Teuffel..."

"Hmm?"

Alba looked at him shyly. "Thank you."

Teuffel grinned, his heart feeling lighter than it had in days. "Anytime, Alba."

Not too long after that, he bade Alba goodbye and left the teen to his own devices, not forgetting to reassure Alba's mom on the way out. She thanked him infinitely and marveled at his skill to bring Alba out of his shell, so to speak. Teuffel supposed the only reason he was able to do so was because he'd been in that type of situation before—alone, in his room, hiding himself from the world because he was afraid to face it. Hopefully things would be looking up for their little group—and Alba—soon.

* * *

Alba watched from his window as Teuffel left the house, a bright smile on his face as he took the road to home. The brunette's eyes darkened once he was out of sight.

Alba closed the curtains and buried himself under the covers once more, eyes drifting to land on his shattered phone again. His lips pulled down into a nasty scowl as he stared at the screen.

"Great. Now I'm a weakling _and_ a liar," he muttered hoarsely.

His eyes fell half-mast and he sighed.

"Ros...if you saw what type of person I've become...would you be angry?" He wondered aloud, mind clouding with memories.

_"Pretty, isn't it?"_

_"What are you doing out here? You know that class is gonna start soon, right?"_

_"Say, what's your name?"_

_"Alba, huh? That almost sounds like a hero's name."_

_"So, Hero, do you watch that kind of stuff? You seem like the type. Maybe you want to be just like them?"_

_"The name's Ros. Nice to meet you, Hero."_

_"Good morning, Hero."_

_"...Hero. I...need to tell you something..."_

_"You'll be alright, I'm sure."_

_"...'Bye—"_

Alba shot up from his position, gasping. He let out a quiet snarl and fell back face-first into his mattress, throwing his hands over his ears.

_No. No, no, no, no, no..._

_No more...no more...don't think about him. Don't—_

_"Alba, Alba! It's okay! It's okay, I'm here!"_

_"It's me. I've got you. It's gonna be alright."_

_"I wouldn't leave you, silly."_

_"B-but, since you got beaten up, Hero, I guess I have no choice but to stay here and make sure you don't...die."_

_"You're strange."_

_"I'm okay, Alba. Really. I'm alright. I'm used to it."_

_"There's something...I haven't told you. About me."_

_"I'm not playing a joke on you. I'm telling you the truth. I promise."_

_"I'm not him! Can't you see?! I'm just me!"_

_"Finally, you can see me..."_

_Teuffel..._

Alba frowned as the swirly-eyed teen came to mind, and his stomach twisted painfully. Guilt. So much guilt.

The other day had been absolutely devastating for him. What once was a stable world came crashing down on his head when he found out that Ros had never been there. On top of that, it had actually been Teuffel, who'd suffered endlessly while he was forced to play the role of the boy who left them at the beginning of the school year. Teuffel hadn't said it outright, but Alba could tell how much it hurt him to have to pretend to be somebody he wasn't. He mentally chewed himself out for putting the boy into that kind of a position. He was awful. He didn't even bother to stop and think of Teuffel's feelings; instead he created a delusion that would never last, even though he'd wanted it to.

Oh, how _badly_ he wanted for Ros to return, to see him once again. Even if Ros hated his guts and did nothing but insult him all day, Alba still missed him. He felt sick. Was he becoming a masochist? He was actually starting to _miss_ the way Ros teased him and put him down.

 _I really_ am _messed up in the head,_ he realized. _But I guess I haven't been completely sane since_ that _happened..._

Right. The night of his kidnapping.

He shuddered involuntarily. Even now, thinking about it was difficult. To be honest, he hadn't gotten much sleep lately, even when "Ros" was around. His fears followed him into his dreams and that scene would replay in his head, over and over, until he woke up crying with Ros' name on his lips. It was hard, getting over such a thing. He wasn't sure if he'd _ever_ be able to forget.

And that scared him.

_"Heya, Alba-kun! Nice to see ya again!"_

_"Ya seem so surprised. I guess I did too good of a job impersonating Ros-san, then! Eheheheh!"_

_"Oooh, I didn't know ya could be so intimidating, Alba-kun! I have to say, ya look really charming like that..."_

_"Be a good boy and take a nap. When ya wake up, everything will be aaaallll better, I promise."_

_"I like that look on yer face. It's nice, but the one where ya look all hopeless and defeated is even better. I'll havta bring out that one soon."_

_"Now, show me more of those expressions. If ya play along and do what I say, I'll let ya go."_

_"Ahh, yes. Perfect. Ya look so submissive and scared of me. I love it."_

_"Sorry, Alba-kun. I know I told ya I wouldn't use it unless ya start misbehaving, but I can't think of a better way to make you scream than this."_

_"Oh, yes! How wonderful! Oh, yes, look at yer face, it's perfect! So scared and afraid...show me more..._ more _."_

_"Yer screams...they sound so lovely..."_

_No...no no no no no no no—!_

Alba whimpered and clapped his hands over his ears, shaking his head back and forth.

_Don't remember. Don't remember. Just forget._

_I just need to forget it all..._

* * *

Teuffel was absolutely overjoyed when Alba showed up to school the next day. Granted, he looked beyond exhausted and somewhat hollow, but it was a start. The road to recovery was a long one and Alba was only starting to walk down it. But Teuffel was going to be there for him, every step of the way. And so were the rest of their friends.

Alba slid into his seat that morning, rubbing a hand over his face. Rchi looked over from her desk next to his and placed a worried hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay, Alba-san?" She whispered, afraid that if she spoke any louder she'd end up spooking him.

Alba did end up jumping in surprise, but only a bit. "Y...yeah. Sorry. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, so..." For some reason last night his nightmares had been even worse than usual. Perhaps it was because "Ros" wasn't there anymore. Alba felt more afraid than he'd ever had before and having to deal with the aftermath of everything by himself wasn't easy.

"I'm sorry..." Rchi apologized, unsure of what else to say. Before she could ponder over it any further, the classroom door opened and in strode their homeroom teacher.

"Good morning, everyone," she greeted cheerfully. Alba was annoyed by her peppiness.

"Good morning, sensei," the class responded.

"Alright, let's take attendance and then we can begin." She pulled out the attendance log and straightened her glasses before she started calling out names.

Alba was half-dead through most of it, instead choosing to look out the window and get lost in his thoughts.

"...Fruhling-kun? Fruhling-kun?"

"Alba-san," Rchi hissed, prodding him in the side. Alba flinched visibly and then relaxed when he realized what was going on.

"Sorry. I'm here," he mumbled, earning a couple of worried glances from his friends, especially Teuffel.

"Are you feeling alright?" The teacher asked him with a slight frown.

He nodded quickly, wanting the attention to be taken off of him as soon as possible. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Okay, then..." She said, shooting him a suspicious glance before the roll calling began again.

It wasn't until she'd reached towards the end of the list that the entire class froze.

"Ros?"

Alba's eyes went as wide as saucers and Rchi stiffened from beside him. The rest of the group were in similar states of paralyzed fear. Teuffel sat rigid in his seat, feeling sweat beading on his forehead when he saw Alba's eyes turn glassy.

"S-sensei," he squeaked, trembling where he sat. "Ros is...um...not here anymore, remember?"

She seemed to realize her mistake right away, her hands coming up to cover her gasp. "Oh, yes! You're absolutely right, I'm...so sorry, Diabolos-kun." She'd been informed of Alba's change in condition right before class had started...and to think she'd forgotten about it already!

The rest of their classmates stared on either in complete confusion or utter concern. They too had been told about what happened with Alba—and now that things had returned to normality they couldn't quite get a grasp on it.

"M-moving on, then..."

Alba lowered his head a little and breathed out a sigh. _Just ignore it. It's not important. Nothing..._

_Nothing matters anymore..._

Teuffel relaxed when he saw Alba do the same.

 _This is going to be a_ long _week..._

* * *

The front door closed with a small click as Alba wandered into his house. The warm smells of dinner had his mouth watering a little. He set his stuff down and headed into the kitchen to see his mother cooking away as usual.

She lifted her head as he entered, eyes brightening at the sight of him. "Oh! Welcome home, dear!"

Alba gave her a smile that may or may not have been a little twisted. "Hi, Mom."

"Dinner will be ready in a little bit," she said, returning to her work. "How was school?"

The brunette shrugged. "It was...fine. I guess."

Mrs. Fruhling paused in her activities and gave her son a worried look.

Alba felt the familiar clench of guilt in his gut. His mother was always looking out for him and helping him whenever he needed it, and he was repaying her by making her so very worried...

How many more people's lives had he ruined with his little charade, he wondered?

"I'm alright, Mom," he said, forcing himself to sound happy. "I'm just really tired. I think I'll go to bed early."

She blinked in surprise. "Right now? But don't you want something to eat, sweetheart?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm alright. But thank you. Maybe you could just put it in a tupperware and I can eat it later?" He felt awful for blowing off dinner, but right now he wanted nothing more than to curl up and never wake up again.

"Alright, then..." She narrowed her eyes at him, biting her lip. Alba nodded and turned to head upstairs.

"Alba?"

He paused, looking back at her questioningly.

"I love you," she said, smiling.

Alba sighed and smiled back, though it was half-hearted at most. "Yeah. I love you too. 'Night, Mom."

"Sweet dreams, dear."

* * *

_Stay away stay away stay away_ don't touch me _—_

Alba woke up screaming.

He immediately buried his face in a pillow to muffle the sound. His body convulsed with gasps and sobs as he fought to gain control of himself once again.

Eventually he collapsed, body trembling violently, on the bed. He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, breath coming out in quick spurts, trying to slow down his breathing.

His eyes fluttered weakly in the darkness of the night. Yet again another nightmare had come to plague him in his sleep. This was the third one that night, and Alba had to admit he was getting awfully sick of them.

He pulled himself up into a sitting position and rubbed his temples.

 _I'm such a mess,_ he thought slowly. _I don't know how much more of this I can take..._

_How do I...get rid of this pain? I want to just forget everything..._

_What can I..._

And then it hit him.

The solution to everything.

It was simple, really.

 _That's it,_ he realized, _The answer's been there all along, hasn't it?_

It was perfect.

_With this, I'll...be able to see Ros again...I can forget everything and just be happy..._

With a determined nod, Alba tore off his bedsheets and quickly sat down at his computer desk, putting his plan into motion.

As he worked, his eyes began to sting a bit.

 _It's okay,_ he reassured himself, _it'll only be for a little while. Then I can see you again. So wait for me...okay, Ros?_

_That's right. Because tomorrow, I'm..._

Going to fix everything. Right?

* * *

"'Bye, Mom," Alba said, hugging her tight. "I love you."

Mrs. Fruhling chuckled in surprise, but accepted her son's hug nonetheless. "Goodbye, sweetheart. Have a good day."

Alba waved her one last goodbye before he left the house, seeming to be somewhat anxious and jittery.

Mrs. Fruhling focused back on the task of putting all of her cooking utensils away. She scooped up the empty frying pan and placed it into the sink. Her eyes scanned over the counter and her eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Huh? Where did I put my kitchen knife...?" She wondered aloud. "Hmm. I must have put it away already. I'm becoming so absentminded in my old age..." She sighed, going back to work.

* * *

Alba purposely kept his gaze straight ahead as he passed by what was once his favorite intersection, heart hammering in his chest.

"Just a little longer," he said to himself without any emotion. _Just a bit more._

* * *

The apple tree swayed in the breeze, its branches creaking under the weight of the fruit it bore. Summer was nearing. Only a month or two left and then Sophomore year would be over. Everything was covered in greens and blues and purples; the freshly cut grass and the flowers that smelled so sweet. The grass sparkled with morning dew as the sun peeked over the horizon, spreading streaks of pink and orange across the sky. It was a perfect day...almost too perfect, in Alba's opinion.

He stood beneath the trunk of the great tree—the tree that held so many good memories for him. This was where his plan would begin.

He sighed, unable to stop a few tears from sliding down his cheeks.

"I just wanted to have a happy ending," he murmured to nobody. "But I guess things like that don't exist, huh?"

He rose his gaze to the sky, basking in its beauty. His face scrunched up as more tears escaped from his eyes. He let out an audible sniff.

"Goodbye, everyone." He stated, completely empty. "I'm going far, far away. But I'll be alright."

_Because I'm going to see Ros again._

_So please...don't get too angry with me._

_I can't take this anymore...please forgive me for giving up._

_Ros..._

_I'm coming to see you now. So...wait a little longer. Just a little more._

* * *

Teuffel walked onto the school grounds that morning, the day promising good things. Alba had come back to school and was starting to recover, which was great. Teuffel couldn't be happier for the brunette. Maybe he'd finally get to see Alba's smile again.

Suddenly, the wind picked up and blew his hair about. Teuffel ducked a little and his eye caught movement in the distance. Blinking, he made out a small figure with brown hair and a familiar stance...

_Alba?_

What was he doing by the apple tree?

It wasn't unlike him to go there, but Teuffel found it strange that the teen was standing there doing absolutely nothing. Maybe he was lost in thought?

Without anything better to do, Teuffel turned his feet in the direction of the tree and started walking. Maybe Alba was trying to say goodbye to Ros by coming to the place they'd first met.

 _Good riddance_ , Teuffel thought sourly, _it's his fault this whole mess started anyway. It's about time Alba forgot about him and focused on his_ real _friends._

As he approached, he noticed something was off. Alba was staring at the sky, face completely blank. Teuffel felt his heart jump in his chest at the sight.

_What is he doing...?_

Teuffel picked up his pace a little, feet clapping against the sidewalk as he jogged closer towards the shorter boy.

Suddenly, Alba moved. Teuffel stumbled a bit, letting out a puff of relief as he got nearer. Well, at least he didn't look like a zombie anymore.

Teuffel raised a hand in greeting and opened his mouth to call out to him—

Then Alba pulled something out of his pocket.

Teuffel felt his entire body go rigid with absolute fear.

Alba held it in front of his face for a moment.

Teuffel let out a shaky gasp and darted forward, movement clumsy due to the numbing terror that was engulfing his body.

Alba raised the item high into the sky.

" _Alba, no!_ " Teuffel shrieked, feeling adrenaline course through him as he ran faster than he'd ever run before.

Alba brought the knife plunging down.


	15. Shadows Are Darker in the Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys! This is the last chapter! (Not counting the promised bonus chapter, which is still in the works). After this I have tons of other cute Senyuu fluff oneshots I want to write. There will be no angst. This story has enough to last you a lifetime, haha!
> 
> For now, if you have any interest in Mother 3 or Gravity Falls, please be sure to check out the stories I'm writing/have written for those!
> 
> If I get enough support, I'll put a halt on those and work on Senyuu oneshots instead! How does that sound? And of course the bonus chapter is very important too! That one will take a while since it spans the entire timeline of this story, so I have to cram 15 chapters into one. I cannot say when it will be finished, but I'll say before the end of this summer for sure. At least that gives me some time to work on it, right?
> 
> Ahh, I feel so very satisfied...I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever get this done, but lo and behold, here we are at last. It feels so good to finish something like this for once. I can't even begin to count the number of unfinished stories I have on my computer. There's well over 200, I'm sure.
> 
> And now, my dear, dear readers...without further ado...  
> The last chapter of SADITL. Don't forget to grab tissues.

"Shi-tan, Shi-tan! Aren't you excited? Come on! Show a little more emotion for once!"

Red eyes flickered lazily over to the form of a certain black and white-haired teen, who was currently bouncing around with endless excitement.

The sky was a bright blue at the moment, but Shion could tell that there was a storm brewing. Angry dark clouds were gathered at the edge of the horizon and it wouldn't be long until they moved in and unleashed their wrath upon the earth. Around this time of year it tended to rain quite often, so he'd been sure to bring an umbrella just in case.

It was May now, almost eight months after he'd left Japan to return home and take care of the many responsibilities he'd abandoned long ago. But everything had properly fallen into place and things seemed to be alright now.

There were many concerns regarding his father, Rchimedes. But after several incidents in court and long, exhausting nights spent trying to solve all the problems about said man, he was sent to jail for a life sentence. Shion wouldn't lie and say it didn't sadden him; despite all of his faults and misdeeds, Rchimedes was still his family and seeing him locked up was sort of unnerving. However, good things came out of that final decision—Shion was finally reunited with the remainder of his family.

His mother, Cecily, was overjoyed to see him, and was extremely overprotective of him after he returned home. Shion could hardly leave the house without her breathing down his neck. Even so, he still treasured her. He hadn't seen her in years so it was strange to be doted on by a mother such as her, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

Then there was his little brother, Lake. Shion hadn't even known he had a little brother until he'd been told so. Lake looked almost exactly like him, it was kind of scary. He had the same crimson red eyes and jet black hair. Unlike his older brother, though, he was very kindhearted and energetic. Shion sometimes wondered if the only thing they shared was their appearance, because their personalities were so vastly different. Still, Lake was a good kid and Shion had a hard time saying no to him. He fondly recalled a certain brunette that Lake reminded him of...

The biggest surprise of all, though, was discovering that his best friend Crea had finally woken up from his 4 year long coma. After the final trials were over he received a call stating that Crea made a miraculous recovery inside the hospital and was due to come home once he was back in tip top shape. Shion had been so shocked he had nearly passed out.

Several months had passed after the incident and Crea was slowly but surely adapting back into his regular life. It was difficult since he was four years behind schedule in his education, but Shion tutored him in his free time and helped him to understand things better. Along with his state of intellect, which was slowly but surely being caught up to the current level at which it should be, Crea had to go through a lot of physical therapy. Being stuck in a bed for four years certainly did a number on his body. His muscles were extremely weak and needed help getting back to their regular state. Crea couldn't walk for the first three weeks, but eventually he managed to overcome that obstacle. Now he was completely healthy—a bit skinnier than he should be, but he had a good appetite and was working on building his body to what it used to be.

After much pleading and begging (on Crea's part, Shion would _not_ take credit for that) Cecily finally agreed to send the boys back to Japan for a few weeks in order to catch up with old friends among...other things that may or may not include a specific screwup teenager.

"Shi-tan! Shi-tan, is that it?" Crea was already several paces ahead of him and was frantically pointing at a building in the distance. Shion took his time in catching up. When he finally reached his best friend's side he followed the other's eager gaze to land on the familiar and nostalgic sight of his old high school.

"That's it," he confirmed, eyes clouding over with memories. Crea noticed his longing gaze and smiled.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Shi-tan? I'm sure you must miss your friends a lot."

"Huh? Those losers? No way," Shion stated bluntly with a blank expression. "I was just thinking of how much I hated this place."

Crea snorted with laughter. "You liar! I don't believe any of that! You can't fool me!"

Shion roughly smacked his friend upside the head and started walking towards the edge of the school grounds. Crea whined in pain, cradling his injured skull while he followed his sadistic companion.

"You're so mean, Shi-tan...I wouldn't be surprised if Alba-kun rejects your love proposal!"

"Huh? What nonsense are you going on about now?" Shion asked, his voice dangerously low. "There's no way I could ever like Hero in that way. He's too wimpy for my tastes."

"Sure, sure," Crea hummed, deciding to drop the subject for now. He knew that, deep down, Shion really loved Alba. He could tell right from the start when Shion was filling him in on his life that the brunette was very special to him. No matter how hard he tried to mask it, Crea easily detected hints of immense fondness in Shion's tone whenever he mentioned Alba.

Shion would never admit it, not even to himself consciously, that he missed Alba a lot while he was away. Whenever he wasn't paying attention he found that the dorky teen occupied his thoughts, and when he caught himself thinking such things he'd get frustrated. He tried to forget the friendships he formed with everyone in their group because he had a new life to lead now. But Crea was insistent on Shion returning and seeing everyone he once held dear again, so here they were.

Even though Shion's steps were slightly rushed, betraying his eagerness to explore his old high school, Crea managed to keep up with him due to his own excitement. He could hardly wait to meet all of his best friend's friends. He'd have to thank each and every one of them for keeping Shion in line.

He knew that, while he'd been asleep, Shion had had a very rough time. Shion told him that after he fell into his coma, he'd been forced to leave and try to live his life elsewhere. After almost four years of living away from home, Shion could no longer run away from his guilt and duty to protect his family, so he'd finally come back to set things right. Even so, Crea knew that it was thanks to Shion's newfound friends. The black-haired teen never stated it directly, but Crea knew they had given him a new sense of hope and courage, especially Alba.

_So now that everything's okay back home, he's come here to thank everyone for what they've done,_ Crea thought fondly. They were rapidly approaching school grounds. _And also to finally tell Alba-kun his feelings. Ahh! I'm so happy! My best friend has fallen in love...I never thought I'd see the day!_

"Daydreaming again, Crea? Get your head out of the clouds. We're almost here." Shion said, flicking his forehead. Crea stuck out his lower lip teasingly and hurried his pace to match with Shion's.

Students were already flooding out of the building, signaling the end of another school day. Unlike back home, classes were still going on here, so Shion knew if he wanted to catch his friends this would be the best place and time to do it. Crea bounced beside him, radiating with anticipation. Shion rolled his eyes, not being able to resist the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. No matter what the situation, his best friend always tried to stay optimistic. One of the perks of being Crea, he supposed.

They walked closer to the building, footsteps crunching the grass below them. Students headed in all different directions on their way home or to other after school activities. Shion frowned when several of them pointed and whispered at him, their eyes wide with disbelief. The more he looked around, the more strange things seemed. The majority of the teenagers leaving looked...hollow, empty, like they'd been struck with some great tragedy and were having a hard time accepting it. An uncomfortable feeling began to bubble in the pit of his stomach, and he swallowed. He didn't like this...

Crea noticed his sudden hesitance and blinked curiously. Everyone around him seemed so...reclusive and mopey. Kind of like how Shion was when he was a kid.

"...headed home now, right?"

Shion perked up at the sound of a very familiar voice. Crimson eyes darted to and fro, searching the crowd for a familiar face. He couldn't help the grin that spread when he spotted two blondes, a bluenette, a black-haired teen and a small pink-haired girl. It was the gang! At least, some of them. Shion's heart fluttered in excitement as he pushed his way through the mass of people, Crea on his heels.

"Yes...I have a project due tomorrow. I'm sorry I can't stay longer," a familiar voice responded, and Shion almost laughed. Rchi! It was so good to hear her voice after so long.

"Good luck with that," another voice piped in, voice light and sweet. Hime!

"I don't envy you." Ares!

"Don't you have that same project though?" Foyfoy!

"Pfft! Who says I'm gonna do it?"

"You really should try to get it done, A." And even Teuffel!

"Hmmm...maybe I'll consider it if you help me!"

"Maybe I can lend a hand."

Shion stepped towards them, finally revealing himself from the crowd. Crea wore a bright, sunny smile from next to him.

They all looked towards him at once and simultaneously gasped. Rchi's hands flew up to cover her mouth, her eyes wide. Foyfoy and Hime stood there gaping at him. Ares paled considerably, and Teuffel...looked angry.

Wait, what?

"R...Ros...san?" Rchi squeaked, trembling.

"No...way..." Foyfoy breathed. He had an expression of complete disbelief.

"How...but I thought..." Hime clutched at her skirt, biting her lip.

Ares was the first to snap out of it. Her eyes narrowed at him, not dangerously, but suspiciously. "What are you doing back here?"

Shion was surprised at the tone of her voice.

She didn't sound hostile, but...maybe protective? Protective of what, though? Shion spotted Teuffel, who was barely concealing his look of absolute hatred.

Just what the hell was going on here?

Shion shuffled his feet and stared back at them. Were these really the same people he'd been friends with not too long ago?

"Came back for a visit," he started casually. "I know it's been a while...sorry for leaving without saying anything."

Teuffel released a low growl from his throat. Rchi held onto his sleeve, shaking her head.

"It's alright," Ares soothed, relaxing a little. The rest of the group followed her lead, the shock of his sudden appearance wearing off. Teuffel's expression didn't change.

"You're looking good. How have you been?" At Ares' friendly smile, Shion also relaxed.

"Pretty good," he responded evenly, sliding his hands into his pockets. "It's nice being back here, though. You guys seem to be doing well."

"Ros-san...why were you gone for so long? We all missed you," Rchi said, not removing her hand from Teuffel's sleeve. However, her smile was warm and inviting. Shion kind of wanted to hug her.

He was only starting to realize how much he missed these guys.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly, "it's kind of hard to explain, but...family issues, I guess. I didn't mean to leave you hanging."

"Wait a minute," Crea piped up from next to him, entering the conversation. "Ros-san? Isn't that..."

Before Shion could get a word in, Crea's eyes sparkled and he squealed happily.

"No way! Shi-tan! I can't believe you used that name! You're so cu— _huohhh_!" His exclamation was cut off by a well-timed punch to the gut.

"That was..." He wheezed, "...uncalled for..."

Foyfoy gazed at him curiously. "Who's that, Ros?"

"Ah, yeah," Ros slapped a hand on top of his friend's head. Crea squeaked in pain.

"This is Crea. I've known him since I was a kid. He decided to follow me here."

Crea immediately whined out, "Did not! We came here together!"

"So is he a close friend of yours?" Hime questioned, edging closer to Foyfoy.

Shion made a disgusted face. "I guess you could say that."

"Aww, Shi-tan, you meanie..."

Shion paused.

"Something's off," he noticed. "There's no retort..."

The others froze, their eyes wide. Crea stared at him, oblivious.

"Where's Hero? I haven't seen him yet."

" _Bastard_ ," Teuffel snarled, shaking with rage.

"Stop it, Teuf," Ares barked. Then, uncharacteristically, she softened. Her voice came out as a mere whisper. "He doesn't know. How could he?"

Shion stepped back. He suddenly had the intense urge to run. Run and run and never look back.

It was strange. He hadn't felt this sort of fear since...

Since Clare was hospitalized.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but ever since he arrived, he had a nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong. And now that he was here, facing his friends, while they all avoided his imploring gaze with wounded looks, he couldn't help but feel a little frightened.

Just what were they hiding from him?

A sudden drop on his head startled him out of his terrified stance. The storm had crept in while he wasn't paying attention, and it was beginning to sprinkle. Soon enough it would become a downpour. However, something told him not to escape from the rain. There was something his friends needed to tell him. He would wait patiently until they did.

"Doesn't know? _Doesn't know_?!" Teuffel practically roared. Shion had never seen him show so much emotion before. Was this really the same reclusive, narcoleptic shy boy he'd known before?

"This whole _thing_ is practically his fault! If he hadn't left, Alba..."

At the mention of Alba's name, Shion tensed. "What about him?"

The others shrunk back at his demanding tone. Teuffel seemed undeterred. Actually, Shion's question only seemed to make him angrier.

"You...you..." Teuffel grit his teeth and glared fiercely at him. Suddenly, he charged forward, ripping out of Rchi's grip and dodging Ares, heading straight towards him. "You _asshole_!"

Shion didn't even have any time to react before Teuffel was slamming his fist into his face. He grunted in pain and fell backwards from the force of the punch. He landed in a heap on the grass, cheek already beginning to sting from the strike. Crea gasped in fear from next to him and the rest of the group watched with shocked faces.

Shion held his cheek, completely dumbfounded. Teuffel's sudden personality change had him completely speechless.

_Just what the hell happened while I was gone?!_

He slowly rose his gaze to meet Teuffel's and was even more surprised to see tears rolling down his cheeks. Teuffel's entire body trembled from his sobs as he stood there in the rain, which was starting to come down harder.

The other four watched their exchange, expressions betraying everything Shion had feared. Rchi cried quietly, hugging herself as the rain started to soak through her clothes. Hime was currently enveloped in Foyfoy's embrace, and the both of them were shaking. And Ares—tough girl Ares, the badass, sarcastic heroine of their group, was also crying. Her tears were silent and beautiful, trailing down her face in gentle tracks, wetting her thick blue eyelashes.

"A-all because of you," Teuffel rasped, barely managing to speak through his wails, "All because of you, Alba is...!"

_No. Don't say it._

Shion started backing away, shaking his head from side to side.

_Don't say it. Don't say it!_

_I don't believe you!_

"Alba's _dead_!" Teuffel screamed, tangling his fingers in his hair. He shook his head back and forth in agony.

" _No_! You're wrong!" Shion was shocked to hear the response, mainly because it was his own. "You're lying! I don't believe your bullshit!"

"Ros-saaan," Rchi wailed, her body convulsing as she cried.

"I'm not lying! He's dead! He's dead and _you_ killed him!" Teuffel shouted. His voice cracked.

" _Teuffel_!" Ares screamed in outrage and disbelief.

"This can't be happening..." Crea whispered, his shoulders shaking.

"Why the hell are you upset? You didn't even know him! Stay out of our business!" Teuffel spat, clenching his fists.

Ares started full-on sobbing. "Teuffel, _stop it_!"

" _No_! No, I _won't_ stop!" Teuffel raised his head and yelled to the heavens. "Alba's dead! _He's dead_! He's dead and it's all his fault, and I won't stop until I—until I—"

Ares rushed forward and caught him before he hit the ground. He collapsed against her shoulder and sniffled weakly, unable to speak anymore. His condition was getting the best of him once again.

"Sh...Shi-tan..." Crea's voice called out to Shion quietly, but his plea passed through unhearing ears.

"I...I couldn't," Teuffel whined lowly, sounding utterly defeated, "I couldn't...do anything. I was right there, and I still..."

He let out a pitiful cry.

"I c-couldn't save him! A-Alba's dead because I c-c-couldn't do a d-damn thing! It's all my fault! _It's all my_ —" He was hushed when Ares held him close, embracing him with all her might.

"See? He's not mad at you," she whispered harshly, her eyes meeting Shion's blank red ones. Her face was sticky with tears and rain. "He's just trying to put the blame on you because he's actually been blaming himself the entire time. But it's not his fault, either. It's nobody's fault."

"You're wrong," Rchi said quietly. Everyone's gaze flickered over to meet her.

"You're wrong," she repeated, noisily rubbing her nose with her sleeve. "It's _everybody's_ fault. We should have been more supportive. We should have tried to get him help. We should have tried to ask him what was wrong and get him to open up to us."

She buried her face in her hands.

"B-but we were foolish and stupid," she whimpered. "We didn't even realize what he was thinking until it was too late. We should've been there for him but we couldn't do a-anything...nothing at all..."

"Oh, Rchi," Hime blubbered, leaving Foyfoy's side to wrap her in a hug.

"Alba-san's g-gone," Rchi choked. "He's gone and he's not coming b-back. Not ever..."

"But _why_?" Crea asked with a glance at Shion. The black-haired teen was completely unresponsive. He supposed he would have to do the questioning from here on out.

"Why did he die? What could have happened...?"

"He couldn't take it," Teuffel muttered lowly. "After everything that happened to him, he...he wasn't strong enough. He decided to run away from his problems instead of coming to us for help."

"So he..." Crea trailed off, wincing. He knew exactly what the narcoleptic teen was implying.

"We would have helped him." Foyfoy spoke up. His bangs were plastered against his forehead from the rain. "We would've done anything. We would've done _everything_."

Hime shook her head sadly. "There's nothing we can do now. It's too late..."

They all fell silent as the storm raged above their heads. Lightning cracked in the distance, preceded by rumbling thunder. The rain was hard and freezing, making their clothes stick to their skin and blur their vision as drops snuck into their eyes. It drove into their backs, pounding like bullets, but they didn't react. Nobody moved for a very long time, each person absorbed in their own grief. Then the spell was abruptly broken when Shion rose to his feet. Crea stared after him curiously as he began to walk away, shoes squishing in the wet grass.

"Shion?" He called out, looking worriedly after his best friend. "Shion, where are you going?"

"Leave him be," Ares murmured. Teuffel had collapsed on her shoulder, beyond exhausted. She stroked his hair soothingly. "He needs time to mourn alone. And he's going in the right direction, anyway."

Crea gazed at her, questions dancing in his eyes.

"The apple tree," Rchi finished softly. "It's where..."

* * *

Shion walked in complete silence. His shoes squished against the soaking wet grass. His thoughts were jumbled and hazy, dulled by pain and grief. There was a subconscious pull to his legs, tugging him towards a place of great importance. Maybe if he went there, he'd find Alba. Perhaps this was all a crazy insane nightmare that he needed to wake up from.

Hero wouldn't leave him. There was just no way he'd up and go without a word. Though, to be fair, Shion had done the exact same thing. He'd left Japan in such a rush to save his family, losing his phone and any way of contacting the people he used to hold so dear. He would have kept in touch with Alba, he would have! But he was so busy, working nonstop to prevent his father from ruining his life any more, reconnecting with his family and finally getting to see Crea again. He might not have had the time to talk to his friends that often anyway.

He just couldn't accept it. He couldn't believe that Alba was gone, that Alba had gone somewhere Shion couldn't reach him. What on earth had made him decide to end his life? If Shion had stayed, would things be different? If Shion had just swallowed his damn pride and told Alba that he...

He loved him. He really did.

And now he was gone.

Shion slowed to a stop, looking up and coming face to face with the swaying branches of the apple tree. This was where he'd first met Alba.

He remembered that day so well. He was still bitter and upset about his father's betrayal, pacing about the school grounds and debating on whether or not he should go to class. That's when he'd come across the apple tree. It always made him sad whenever he looked at it; when he was younger he and Crea had tried planting one together, and looking at it then brought back memories. But then he saw a sight he didn't usually see. There was a brunette standing there, eyes wide with childish wonder and almost toppling over when he gazed up into the branches and laid eyes on the sweet fruit. Shion could never forget the way Alba's face had flushed when he teased him, or his weak groans of pain when he easily landed a hit to his ribs.

This boy was absolutely perfect.

And god did Shion love teasing him! It was so damn easy to rile him up and get him bright red with anger. It almost became a hobby, an everyday pastime that Shion always looked forward to. Alba just took it all in stride, eventually realizing that Shion only ever teased out of love. Though maybe not in the literal sense. If Alba had understood Shion's love for him, maybe he'd still be...

Shion paused. The rain pelted against him, dripping from his hair and eyelashes. His eyes locked with a solid stone structure sitting at the base of the tree trunk. He inhaled sharply and walked towards it, quaking. The stone was delicately carved and surrounded by tons of flowers, giving it a peaceful yet sad appearance. Shion's legs gave out underneath him and he collapsed to his knees.

Dear god...it was a grave. And not just any grave, it was Alba's grave. Alba's. His Hero's...

Shion reached out and traced the lettering engraved in the stone, gnawing on his lower lip.

_In loving memory of Alba Fruhling, 200X-201X  
_ _Beloved friend and son_

Below was a sentimental quote about the new dawn and spring. That's right, "Alba" meant dawn, and "Fruhling" meant spring, right? The thought of it made Shion's heart ache something fierce.

He pulled back and sat on his haunches, staring, unseeing, at the flowers that were laid delicately about the grave. They came in all different colors and patterns, bunched together neatly in order to pay proper respects to the deceased. Shock had rendered him completely numb to everything else, and all he could do was sit and watch the rain patter down. His clothes were completely soaked through at this point and he could feel the telltale signs of a cold coming on, but he refused to move. He wasn't going to go anywhere, do anything, talk to anyone...

His eyes followed the trail of flowers to the trunk of the tree, which had turned black and damp from the rain. The roots twisted and turned about themselves, spreading to an unnameable distance underground. Shion tilted his head and stared harder. Why did it look like...?

No, he wasn't just imagining it, after all. There was definitely something there, hidden among the roots.

Crawling forward, Shion reached out and plucked out a folded up assortment of papers. They had been carefully stowed away as to not be found so easily, and yet Shion had spotted them right away, almost as if he was meant to.

The black-haired teen sat back and shakily unfolded the papers, which had been creased into a small square. The writing was a bit scrawled, as if the author had written it in quite a hurry. Shion inhaled sharply when he caught sight of the first line.

_Ros,_

Shion's hands tightened around the letter. It was from Alba.

_I hope this letter finds you well. You'd probably laugh at me for saying that, but I really do hope you're doing okay._

Shion released a noise that was a half-sob half-chuckle.

_I'm guessing you've figured out what's happened. And I know you're probably really really mad at me. So...I know this won't cut it, but...I'm sorry, Ros. I really am._

_So much has happened in this past year that you've been gone...I don't know if the others have filled you in, but I'll tell you anyway._

_After you left...I was a complete wreck. I couldn't go a day without crying. Pathetic, huh? You would have punched me and told me to man up, I know you would. But...I just couldn't. It was so hard, Ros. Not having you there...it felt like a part of me was missing. It's so strange. I haven't known you for that long, but over time you've become someone so, so important to me. It's thanks to you that I was able to smile and be myself every day. I don't know how you managed to do it, but you made me happy. Happier than I'd ever been, happier than I'd been in a long time._

_But then you left. Why did you leave, Ros? I would have done anything to make you stay. You were my best friend, and I cared about you more than anyone else. You just up and left...without saying a word. I guess that's what hurt the most._

_I don't know if the others have told you...but I was briefly kidnapped. Sounds totally fake, right? But no, I really was taken away, and that...person...did unspeakable things to me. The scars would have never faded away; they would have stayed forever, inside and out. And I called out for you, over and over...and you never came, you never came to get me..._

Shion covered his mouth with his hand and trembled. _Oh god, oh god..._

_But Teuffel did. Teuffel saved me. But I was dumb, and I just couldn't let you go, so I tricked myself into thinking he was you. For the longest time, I thought that Teuffel was you..._

_I betrayed him. I hurt him so badly, Ros. To think that he did so much for me, pretending to be you to protect my sanity and make sure I was going to be okay. God, I can't even begin to..._

_I can hardly bear to sit here, thinking about that night, thinking about the horrible pain and stress I've caused Teuffel and the worry I've caused my friends. More than anything else, I wanted them to be happy. I didn't want to cause them trouble. I just wanted to be with you. That's all. But I guess I took things too far this time._

_So, for their sake and yours...and for myself, I'm going away._

_I can't live with these memories anymore...I can't look at myself in the mirror without thinking about the knife and the scars it left behind, I can't look at Teuffel without experiencing that crushing guilt, I can't think about you without feeling like my heart is shattering over and over._

_I know. I know you're mad. I should have asked for help, right? But I don't want to burden anyone. I don't want to cause anyone any trouble. I just want this pain to end._

_I just want to see you again. One last time, Ros..._

Shion gritted his teeth and wailed lowly.

_You were wrong about me, you know. I'm no hero. The Alba that everyone needed...the "Hero"...he doesn't exist. The me that still remains...has no purpose left in this world. I don't need to be here anymore. There's just no point._

"No, no," Shion gasped. "No, Alba..."

_So...this is where I say goodbye._

Shion shook his head. _No...no, don't leave me_!

_Please don't blame yourself for this, Ros. It's not your fault, it's not anyone's fault but mine. I'm just too weak to stand on my own. You can understand that, right? You always used to tease me about that. I've been such a pain. Such a pathetic excuse for nothing..._

"Liar," Shion sobbed. "You liar, Hero..."

_You...you're different. You're like...the sun. You bring light into people's lives, brightening the darkness and chasing away the shadows. But there are some that still remain. Those are my shadows. You shine on me, taking away some of my darkness, but you also make some of my shadows darker. Shadows are darker in the light, you see? And even with your sun, I couldn't escape from them. Yes, this is for the best, I think. This world is much better off without me. Your light is needed elsewhere. You don't need to waste it on someone like me, who can't rid himself of his shadows._

_Ah, one more thing. I'm not sure if I've gotten this across properly, but I wanted so desperately to tell you before I left. I guess this is the only chance I'll get, so I'll take it, because I'm selfish._

_Ros...thank you for all you've done for me._

_I'll never forget the times we spent together._

_Thinking about you in these last moments...makes me happy, somehow. More prepared. Whenever I think about you, I'm able to summon up more courage. Whatever lies ahead, I'll face it head on. You deserve that much, right? This reassurance?_

_Thank you, Ros. And please...take care of everyone for me. They need you now._

_I love you._

_Goodbye._

_-Alba_

"N...no..." Shion whispered, shaking his head once more. "No, Hero...no..."

_"It's, uh, it's Alba. My name's Alba."_

"This can't be happening..."

_"Good morning, Ros!"_

"Hero...Hero...Alba..."

_"Ros!"_

And in the midst of the storm, sitting alone by the grave of the boy he so desperately loved, Shion finally allowed himself to break down.

"Nngh...!" Shion held the letter close to his chest, his knuckles turning white. Tears streamed down his face, blending with the cold rain.

"Alba," he choked, shoulders trembling violently. " _Alba_!"

_I love you._

" _No—o_ ," the teen bawled.

_I love you._

_You're like...the sun._

But Alba was wrong. Shion wasn't like the sun at all. He was like the moon, shining only in the darkness, chasing the sun day after day only to fall behind each time. He could never touch that light. And now that Alba, who was the real sun, was gone forever, he'd never be able to reach it.

_Shadows are darker in the light, you see?_

_But there's no light left, Alba,_ Shion thought weakly. _Because you're gone. You were that light. You were my..._

The rain continued to pour down, drowning out the sorrows of everything it touched. It was like the sky was crying with him, sharing his emotions and thoughts. Everything seemed so hazy and muted now.

And it was then that Shion decided he'd block out the pain by feeling and saying nothing at all. He'd hide forever in the darkness, waiting for the rest of his life to touch that sunlight with his fingertips at last. He couldn't chase his sun anymore, but the least he could do was wait patiently for the chance to seek it out once again.

* * *

The sky had finally cleared, making the school grounds look half-drowned from all of the water left behind. It dripped from the branches of the trees, leaving behind clear puddles that reflected the sky.

Crea walked nervously towards the edge of the grounds, following the directions of an exhausted Teuffel in order to find where his best friend had been sulking for the past hour. Part of him hoped that Shion had taken the time to find shelter and not sit out in the rain like an idiot, but he knew deep down that this was no ordinary situation, so he had to be prepared for whatever awaited him ahead. Which was most likely a very moody, wet, and distraught Shion.

That was never ever a good combination.

"Shi-tan...?" Crea called out quietly. All he could hear was the soft pitter patter of raindrops on pavement.

Crea continued along the path, steeling himself for what he would see. Eventually he reached a small area that had a large apple tree in the center. And there, sitting with his back to him, was none other than his best friend.

Crea inhaled quietly and blinked tears out of his eyes. This place was definitely sentimental, and for many reasons. He took another quiet breath and slowly approached the unmoving figure sitting by a grave.

"Shion..."

Shion didn't move an inch. It almost seemed as if he couldn't hear Crea at all.

Crea frowned and shook his friend's shoulder gently. "Shi...Shi-tan. Um...are you doing okay?"

Again, he was met with no response whatsoever. Sighing, Crea sat down on the grass next to his friend, ignoring the way it got his pants wet. He'd been hiding out inside the school during the storm, and he was much dryer than his companion.

"So..." He swallowed. "Teuffel-kun said he's sorry for punching you."

Shion continued to stare ahead, his expression blank.

"He was just upset...well, everyone was."

The air was thick with tension and awkwardness. Crea wasn't sure how to fix it. There was rarely ever any weird silences between them, even after Crea had woken from his coma.

"Shi-tan...Shion," Crea said seriously, "I'm...so sorry. I never would have expected this to happen. I can't help but kind of blame myself for this. If...if I hadn't brought up the idea of coming back here for a visit, you never would have found out. But then I guess this is for the best too, since you might have discovered the truth years and years later, and who knows what would have happened then."

Shion's eyes looked glassy. Or maybe that was just his imagination?

"I never realized...how important Alba-kun was to you. I really, really wish I could have gotten to know him. He sounded like such a sweet and fun person to be around. I just can't imagine why he'd ever..." Crea trailed off, his voice getting thick. He swallowed and rubbed at his eyes. No, he needed to be strong for Shion. He couldn't cry, not now.

"Shion..." Crea gazed into his friend's eyes, biting his lip when he saw nothing but emptiness there.

"Hey...are you...listening?"

When his friend remained completely silent and stoic, Crea started to worry. He pulled himself around until he was sitting directly in front of the other teen.

"Shion," Crea started shakily, "this isn't your fault. You know that, right? Please, please don't blame yourself. And don't...don't keep your feelings all locked up like you always do. It's okay. This time i-it's okay to say what you really feel."

Crea couldn't help it, he started to cry. Tears flooded his vision and slid down his cheeks, one after the other.

"Shi-tan...Shi-tan...please...say something...anything..." He begged quietly.

He knew now that there was no going back; the damage was done. Even so, he still tried to grab onto whatever was left of his best friend's personality.

"Shion...why won't you say anything?!"

Shion simply remained silent, emotionless.

Crea collapsed into his friend's lap and cried.

* * *

The air was frigid and chilling, effectively keeping people cooped up inside and away from the freezing weather. Snowflakes drifted down and collected in a certain man's white hair and upon his eyelashes. The snow crunched softly beneath his feet as he plowed through the drifts of it that had gathered over the last few hours. The sky was a grayish-white, sprinkling down little flecks of snow from above. Other than the cold air and the tiny snowflakes, the teen was relatively warm, bundled up in a thick winter coat, mittens, and a scarf that hung loosely around his neck.

The man slowed to a stop and glanced up. Before him stood a large tree which had withered and died with the arrival of winter. The thick branches curled and weaved far up into the sky. His eyes followed the trunk down to the ground, where a stone structure was half-buried in snow.

Releasing a concerned noise, the man brushed off the thin layer of snow that had sat atop the grave. He reached down and shoved away another pile, revealing the name scrawled upon the stone and a bundle of now dead flowers that had been left there the day before.

With a satisfied nod and a sad sigh, the man sat down in front of the grave. He reached into his coat and pulled out his own bouquet of flowers, gazing at them forlornly.

He smiled, feeling a little bitter.

"Hi, Alba-kun."

The silence was nearly deafening. The man held out the bouquet, offering.

"I brought these for you. Teuffel-kun said your favorite flowers were lilacs. He's really good at studying people, you know? Even Shion didn't know that."

He set the flowers down near the bottom of the gravestone.

"What to say..." He murmured. "Well, first—I'm sorry for not visiting sooner. I've always been really hesitant...but today I decided I needed to stop being such a scaredy cat and come talk to you. You deserve to know what's going on nowadays, anyway. And I don't know how often the others stop by to see you."

He paused to gather his thoughts.

"To be honest...I can't believe it's been seven years since...since you passed away."

He tilted his head back and stared up at the sky. Snowflakes landed on the tip of his nose.

"A lot has changed since then. All of us have graduated, moved on. I try my best to keep in touch with all of your friends. From what I know, Shion still keeps close tabs with what they're doing. Um, let me think..."

He held up his fingers, counting them off and lowering them as he spoke.

"Teuffel-kun works with the government, I believe. He went up the ranks super fast! But now that he's in a super important position he's gotten really lazy, haha. I guess he worked so hard in order to slack off. He's actually engaged to Ares-chan, isn't that amazing? Those two get along really really well, I think. And Ares-chan is a mechanist. She works with these really super cool motorbikes! One of them even has a cannon! Man, I wish you could see it...as for Hime-chan, her father inherited a ton of money and now they live in this super huge house that looks like a castle. She's like a princess! She's been dating Foyfoy-kun for a couple years now...he hasn't proposed yet. He's probably too scared, eheh." He chuckled quietly.

"Foyfoy-kun worked tons of odd jobs for a while. I think he was trying to raise money to help out his little sister, who was in the hospital for a really long time. But now he's, um, an agent, I think? I'm not really sure. Let's see...ah, Janua-kun and Sanejima-san moved out to the country together, and now they have their own farm! They grow tons of really yummy food there. Teuffel-kun stayed with them for a summer and got really super tan."

He snickered. "It was a weird look on him. Luckily it went away after a while."

He paused, thinking. "Oh, Rchi-chan, of course! She's actually still in school right now. She's working to become a doctor. I think, after what happened with you, she wanted to try and help as many people as she could. She's...really something." His cheeks turned pink.

"Ahah, um...I really like Rchi-chan. But she has to focus on graduating first, so I'll wait a little longer before I go after her, heh. As for me, I'm thinking of becoming a vet! I've kinda been indecisive about what I want to do, but I've always loved animals. I already got all of my gen eds out of the way, so I might go back to school and take all the right classes for that."

His eyes softened and turned sad as he stared at the unresponsive stone.

"Right...you probably don't really care about any of that. You want to hear about Shion, don't you?"

He released a long, tired sigh. "Well, yes. Uh...Shion's...alright, I think. After...after he found out what happened, something about him changed. I...I don't know if it's selective or if it just applies to everybody, but..."

He fidgeted with his mittens, pulling nervously on the soft fabric. With another sigh, he finally managed to keep talking.

"Shion's...gone mute. He...he hasn't spoken a single word in years. Rchi-chan's looking into it as a research project for school—Shion doesn't seem to mind too much, though. I guess your death hit him way harder than I thought it would. For the first couple weeks, it was a challenge to even get him to eat. He was probably really intent on following after you back then. He...he really loved you, Alba-kun. He—he still does."

Crea covered his face with a gloved hand. His throat worked through the thick tears that threatened to clog his voice.

"U-um," he stuttered, swallowing a bit. "S-sorry. It's just...I really wish things had turned out differently, Alba-kun. Nothing will ever go back to being the way that it was. I mean, Shion's okay, he's—he smiles more often than he used to, which is good. Really good! He's definitely improved over the past couple years, despite being unable to speak to anyone. S-sometimes we'll write things back and forth, but he usually prefers to stick to silence. It's...been really hard dealing with that. I've known Shion for almost my whole life, and he was always such an expressive person...god, the things he could say to get somebody riled up! He probably said tons of mean things to you, Alba-kun. He's always had a bit of a silver tongue, but he never means any of it. Deep down, he's a really nice guy. I hope you know that."

Crea shook his head a bit, dislodging the bits of snow that clung to his bangs. It was coming down a little thicker.

"After he found out about you...he refused to go back home. His mom had to fly out and drag him back. She was furious! And also...really upset. She cried for days and begged Shion to say something. But he's a stubborn mule, so he kept his mouth shut. Eventually Cecily-san decided to move out here so Shion could be with his other friends. And me too, of course! I came with them, since I've been living with Shion's family for a while. Shion's little brother Lake-kun goes to high school here with Rchi-chan's little sister Lym-chan...and Lake-kun has a boyfriend, his name is Salt-kun! So...so everything is...okay. I think."

He inhaled sharply, suddenly remembering something important. He winced a bit at the thought.

"Ah, um...it might make you upset to hear about this, but I need to say it. Elf November...he was the one who kidnapped you, right? Apparently you were his first...v-victim, and after that he went around and did so many awful things...from what I've heard from rumors, it all started when he got into a really nasty fight with his best friend, Alf Parkington...I guess he took things too far and he kinda just...went off the rails. But—it's all alright now, the police caught him and put him in jail, he'll never hurt anyone ever again! So you can rest assured about that."

He puffed out a breath of air, watching as it emerged in a white trail.

"Oh—Shion's a teacher, did you know that? He works with deaf children, which goes pretty well with his muteness. He's a pro at sign language! It's tough keeping up with him sometimes, he can sign so fast. That's, um, another way we can communicate with each other. So don't worry, it's not like Shion has completely shut himself away from everyone. He really is trying his best, despite you being gone."

Crea pulled out his phone and checked the time, clicking his tongue.

"Sorry, Alba-kun. I should probably get going. Shion's making soup for dinner, there's no way I'm missing that! His cooking is really really tasty." He rose to his feet, erupting into violent shivers. Snow fell off of him in clumps.

He gave a small smile to the grave. "It was good talking to you. It's not weird for me, since I'm always around someone who never answers, haha."

His eyelids lowered.

"Alba-kun...I really wish I could have gotten to know you. We probably would have been great friends. We...have to stick together, you know? Because nobody else can look after Shion as well as we can, right?"

He shoved his hands deep into his pockets. The snow falling from above started to fall faster. There was a storm approaching.

Crea started off for home, holding back a sneeze. Man, he was going to get the lecture of his life when he got back...his cheeks had endured so much torture already, since Shion was fond of pulling on them.

He shot one last glance to the grave behind him.

"See you, Alba-kun."

* * *

Crea was greeted with delicious smells and the warm atmosphere of his apartment when he arrived back. He hurriedly shed his coat, mittens and scarf, hanging them up on the rack near the door. Kicking off his boots, he called out his best friend's name while shaking extra bits of snow off of his clothes.

"Shi-tan? I'm baaaack!"

He smiled when a black-haired man emerged from the kitchen area, looking faintly surprised. Shion raised an eyebrow at Crea, who chuckled quietly, able to read his expressions easily by now.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've used that nickname, huh?"

Shion came over and swept him up into an affectionate hug, tugging on his cheek gently as if to say, _You're freezing, what were you doing out there?_ Crea giggled and snuggled into his friend's embrace.

"Mmhm. I know, I know. Sorry."

Shion pointed to the kitchen and padded over there in his bare feet, Crea following him eagerly.

"Soup tonight?"

Shion nodded. He leaned over to check on the progress of their dinner, nodded in satisfaction, and hurriedly grabbed a rather aged stack of papers on the table and folded them neatly.

Crea frowned. "Shion, what's that? I've never seen it before..."

Shion bit his lip and shrugged, not really keen on revealing the truth. He slid the papers into his pocket, patting it a couple times. His crimson eyes looked wistful and sad.

"Okay, okay, I won't ask again," Crea held up his hands in defense and sat at the table. "Bring on the food, I'm starving!"

Shion laughed soundlessly and started serving up that night's meal.

* * *

Later, after Crea had retired to bed, Shion curled up in the chair by his desk and smoothed out the papers he'd hidden earlier. The words were faded and the paper worn from years and years of use, but they were always handled gently and carefully. His fingers traced down the lines written on the page, eyes stinging a little.

Shion stopped when his fingertips rested on a sentence, something that had stuck with him for years. His lips twitched upward in the beginnings of a somewhat bittersweet smile.

_Shadows are darker in the light, you see?_

Shion closed his eyes.

_Yes,_ he thought mutely, _yes._


End file.
